Advani must go, says Congress

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 8. The sudden spurt in terrorist attacks, particularly the massacre at the Jammu railway station, found its echo in Parliament today as the angry Opposition went for the Government's jugular.

The killings were very much on everybody's mind as the two Houses met this morning. The Government had a hard time trying to pacify the agitated members. Significantly, unlike in the past, the Opposition had worked out its strategy - reportedly finalised at an early morning meeting between the Leader of the Opposition, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, and the CPI(M) leader, Mr. Somnath Chatterjee.

In the Lok Sabha, almost the entire Opposition joined hands to put the Government on the mat and later walked out protesting against the handling of the situation. While in the Rajya Sabha, the Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani, had to bear the brunt of the Opposition attack accusing him and his Ministry of having failed to protect the lives of innocent people in J&K.

The Congress upped the ante outside the House as well by demanding Mr. Advani's resignation. ``The Home Minister should put in his papers as not only has he repeatedly failed in his job but has also been an administrative disaster,'' said the Congress spokesperson, Mr. Jaipal Reddy. The party maintained that it had been forced to ask for the Minister's head after observing great restraint as the repeated massacres in J&K had exposed Mr. Advani's ``chronic incapacity as an administrator''.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Jaipal Reddy said the Government had been forewarned about the likely spurt in terrorist activities after the Agra summit yet it had done little in this regard. He said the killings at the Jammu railway station was ``outrageous and obnoxious and the country could not remain a mute spectator''. Accusing the Government of lowering its guard Mr. Reddy said, ``no government in the history of the nation has failed so miserably in maintaining law and order''.

Soon, almost the entire Opposition was on its feet as the members took the Government to task. Mr. Somnath Chatterjee said the Government had totally failed and was speaking in different voices. He referred, in particular, to the reported statement of Mr. Chaman Lal Gupta, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, blaming Dr. Farooq Abdullah for the killings. An embarrassed Mr. Advani later clarified that those were not the Government's views and praised the J&K Chief Minister for his role in fighting terrorism.

Mr. Advani sought to calm down the members saying he shared their sense of anguish and pain. ``This mood reflects the pain and agony of the country,'' he said. He informed the House that he had convened a high-level meeting of the Chief Minister, the Governor, heads of paramilitary and all those involved with security responsibilities in the State to evolve a comprehensive strategy. He promised to come out with a detailed statement during a discussion on the issue tomorrow.

Even in the Rajya Sabha the Opposition joined forces to take the Government to task. Mr. Pranab Mukherjee (Congress), said despite warnings the Government had done precious little. He said the Home Minister had promised strong action after the Doda killings but what followed was `extra killings' and the country could not become immune to such killings. He was supported by Mr. Nilotpal Basu, CPI(M), who criticised the Government for its failure to come out with a statement after his visit to the Kishtwar region where killings had taken place earlier.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : India, Pak. Foreign Secys. meeting tomorrow