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PM's letter issue raised in Assembly

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, JULY 19. The echoes of the letter written by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, to the Chief Ministers the other day on reforming the public institutions were heard in the Rajasthan Assembly today.

The Bharatiya Janata Party legislator, who raised the issue through a point of order, said the act of the Prime Minister was a violation of the federal character of the Constitution and an infringement on the rights of the Chief Ministers.

The attempt by Nathu Singh, the BJP MLA, to raise the point of order irked the Congress MLAs who said Dr. Singh's letter was only advisory in nature and it did not involve any kind of interference with the States' functioning.

The matter was finally settled when the Speaker, Sumitra Singh, who sought time to decide on the issue later rejected the point of order. The Centre can give directives to the State. It was for the States to decide to follow them or not, she said.

Reading out from the text of-- what he claimed a press release issued by the Prime Minister's office-- the letter, Nathu Singh charged that Dr.Singh's writing a letter of the kind to the Chief Ministers amounted to the violation of Article 256, 252, 356, 355 and others of the Constitution.

The Congress members alleged political motive in the move by Nathu Singh while the Chief Whip of the ruling party, Mahaveer Jain said the issue was of a "serious nature'' and the Congress members were not seized with the aspects involved. However, the senior Congress member, Pradhyumna Singh termed the member's attempt to raise a point of order on the issue a "waste of precious time of the House''.

"This is a politically motivated attempt to malign the Prime Minister who belongs to the Congress party. The whole country respects him,'' Pradhyumna Singh asserted.

The Leader of the Opposition, B.D.Kalla said the Prime Minister had the authority to give directives to the Chief Ministers though the present letter was only advisory in nature. Ram Narain Meena and Hemaram Choudhary of his party said there was no need to drag in the Prime Minister's name in the Assembly business.

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