The Hindu : New Delhi News : BJP to hold rally over Goa issue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 06, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

BJP to hold rally over Goa issue

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB. 5. Responding to the call given by its national leaders, the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to hold a dharna in the Capital on February 8 in protest against "the murder of democracy" in Goa by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government in the State and by the Goa Governor, S. C. Jamir.

Stating that the dharna would be a part of nationwide protest rallies by the BJP and its partners in the National Democratic Alliance, the BJP's Delhi unit president, Harsh Vardhan, said top party leaders including the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the party's national president, L. K. Advani, and Jaswant Singh along with senior NDA leaders like its convenor, George Fernandes, and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu, would take part in the Delhi rally. All BJP Chief Ministers are also likely to participate in the protest.

According to Dr. Vardhan, all party leaders including the elected representatives have been asked to mobilise people for the rally that would be organised near Jantar Mantar. Party workers have also been asked to go door-to-door and expose misrule and highhandedness of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre. He also charged that the UPA Government was working in a revengeful manner, and unceremonious removal of four Governors appointment by the erstwhile NDA Government and its so-called detoxification campaign clearly highlights their nefarious designs.

Addressing presspersons, former Delhi Chief Minister and party's zonal incharge, Madan Lal Khurana, said the rally would protest the unconstitutional dismissal of the BJP Government in Goa and demand immediate removal of Mr. Jamir. "During the past 15 years, Goa has seen removal of 14 Governments, majority of which were that of the Congress. But now when the BJP Government in the State was working efficiently and honestly, it was unconstitutionally removed by the Congress. This clearly indicates that the Congress never wants stability in the State."

Mr. Khurana also said the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, was following the footsteps of the former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, who always used unconstitutional methods to target her opponents. He also criticised Mr. Jamir for bringing disrepute and disrespect to the post of Governor. Stating that the Goa BJP leaders would soon be taking the issue to court, he said it was first time in the history of India that a Government was removed after it won the trust vote in the Assembly. Once again, the Congress had shown how far it could go and adopt unconstitutional and scrupulous methods to grab power, he alleged.

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