The Hindu : National : Waghela to seek `white paper' on Godhra

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 26, 2004

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National

Waghela to seek `white paper' on Godhra

By Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD, MAY 25 . The Union Textiles Minister and former Gujarat Pradesh Congress president, Shankarsinh Waghela, will press the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, for issuing a `white paper' on the Godhra train carnage and the post-Godhra communal riots in the State in 2002.

Mr. Waghela, who arrived here last night to a rousing reception after assuming charge of his Ministry, told mediapersons today that he would also consider demanding a CBI inquiry into the carnage and the post-Godhra riots.

While saying that he was opposed to the "political use" of Article 356, he said the situation in Gujarat was different in the light of the riots, which raised a question mark on the performance of the Narendra Modi Government. Even the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had advised Mr. Modi to perform his "raj dharma," which he did not, he said.

Mr. Waghela said he had decided upon three priorities for the Textile Ministry considering it being one of the most employment-oriented.

The first would be to provide as many jobs as possible to unemployed youths. The second would be to equip the textile mills, through modernisation, so as to make them compete in the world market, particularly with China.

The disposal of land worth over Rs. 3,000 crores with the National Textile Corporation-run mills in the State and elsewhere in the country would be his third, since most of the mills had been closed and their employees given voluntary retirement. The fund obtained through the disposal of land would be utilised for poverty alleviation programmes, he said.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that a number of disgruntled BJP MLAs are believed to be re-grouping, to represent to the party high command, against Mr. Modi.

They were unhappy that they were not given any opportunity to vent their resentment at the legislature party meeting last night, which was ordered "closed" by Mr. Modi after he and the State party unit president, Rajendrasinh Rana, spoke.

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