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Advani cautions against President’s Rule

New Delhi Bureau

Says UPA government is only interested in vote bank politics; deplores violence in Orissa

L.K. Advani

NEW DELHI: Senior BJP leader and party’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani on Monday cautioned the United Progressive Alliance Government against imposing President’s Rule in Orissa.

“You have misused all the institutions, but misusing the Constitution there will prove very costly,” he said at the ‘Vijay Sankalp Rally’ organised by the party at V.P. House here to support the candidature of Vijay Kumar Malhotra as Delhi’s chief ministerial candidate for the Assembly polls.

Raising the issue of terror and violence, Mr. Advani said while there was massive infiltration in Assam and Bodo tribals were being killed by Bangladeshi infiltrators there, the government was not concerned. Rather it was keen on picking on Orissa, which is ruled by an NDA constituent, despite Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik having acted on the matter.

Deploring the violence in Orissa, Mr. Advani said: “I have met the Christian leaders there and stated that we will not tolerate violence against them.” Wondering why the Union Home Minister was not equally concerned at the situation in Assam or had not stepped in during the Nandigram violence in West Bengal, the BJP leader cautioned against any drastic measure.

Noting that just the way 9/11 was the single biggest act of terror till day, the December 13 attack on Parliament House in 2001 was equally big, Mr. Advani expressed concern at how author Arundhati Roy has, in her book, held the Indian Government and agencies responsible for it. “This is suicidal thinking that is unheard of and now when Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma has laid down his life for the country while fighting terrorists in Jamia Nagar, similar questions on the encounter are being raised,” he lamented.

“The UPA Government does not want to save India or its people and is only interested in vote bank politics,” he said, adding “the BJP was not a victim of such politics”.

Stating that “people are fed up with the Central Government and want an end to it as during its tenure prices have shot up and terrorism has increased,” Mr. Advani said the same was true of Delhi, which is the country in miniature, as it has people from all parts.

In his address, Prof. Malhotra said the party was preparing its manifesto and charge sheet against the Delhi Government for its all-round failure.

He said plans were being drawn to make Delhi beautiful, happy, and secure, and appealed to Mr. Advani to provide full Statehood to Delhi on becoming Prime Minister. Handing over its law and order along with land to the Delhi Government would help to improve the situation drastically.

Prof. Malhotra charged that the Congress governments at the Centre and in Delhi not only lacked the will to tackle terrorism but even stooped to dishonouring martyrs like Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma. “Inspector Sharma’s father had on the day of his cremation stated that he would not like his son’s sacrifice to go waste, but now he and Sharma’s widow are pleading that the government stop dishonouring the brave cop. It is shameful that while questions are raised on encounters, terrorists are glorified. Who will fight for the country in such circumstances,” he asked.

“Constitutional misadventure”

Imposition of President’s Rule would amount to a “constitutional misadventure,” party leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said here. “Use Article 356 at your own peril… Such a step would once again ensure a thumping victory for the Biju Janata Dal-BJP coalition in Orissa.”

Mr. Naidu denied that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal were behind the heinous acts of violence against Christians in Kandhamal district. “The root cause is the social conflict between tribals and converted Christians belonging to Scheduled Castes,” he said.

Mr. Naidu and BJP general secretary Ram Lal recently visited the State on the directions of BJP president Rajnath Singh and met party leaders, several Ministers and the Chief Minister.

Mr. Naidu charged the Centre with “not understanding” what was going on in Kandhamal. In response to a question on religious conversions, he said: “In my view, there is need for a common anti-conversion law for the whole country.”

He admitted that several States, including Orissa, did have such a law. But had any prosecution taken place in Orissa under the law that forbids forced conversions or conversion by allurement? “I have no information. I will collect the statistics and let you know,” he told a reporter.

Asked whether the State government failed to implement the law on forced conversions, Mr. Naidu did not respond. He was asked about reports of threats to those in relief camps that they would not be allowed to go back to their villages unless they re-converted to Hinduism. “Those reports are wrong,” he said. Mr. Naidu rejected the view that naxalites had killed VHP activist Lakshmanananda as claimed by them.

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