Cong. has a history of indulging in violence: BJP

By Our Staff Reporter

GODAVARIKHANI, JULY 1. The Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary, Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu, on Saturday alleged that the recent bomb blasts at various religious places in the State were the handiwork of the Congress.

Mr. Naidu, who was here to participate in the BJP zonal political training classes for north Telangana district leaders, told newsmen that the blasts were meticulously planned to destabilise and defame the Government. He said the fact that the blasts did not cause much damage to property and people and as there was no communal violence anywhere, filled one with suspicion. Referring to the arson at Guntur, he said the BJP Minority Morcha team had submitted a report stating that several Congressmen were responsible for the destruction of public property even before the blast had occurred.

He said the Congress before making ``false and baseless'' allegations against the BJP, RSS and others on bomb blasts should be prepared to face counter-allegations. Stating that the Congress had earned a ``dubious distinction ''for its violent acts, he alleged that after the killing of the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, in 1984 Congressmen went on the rampage, killing several Sikhs in Delhi and rioting in other parts of the country. In order to dethrone the then Chief Minister, Marri Channa Reddy, some Congress leaders had brought in hooligans from Vijayawada and Cuddapah and engineered communal riots in Hyderabad and Congress leaders had hurled chappals on their own leader, Mr Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy, at a meeting.

Flaying the CLP leader, Dr. Y.S. Rajashekhar Reddy's remarks that the DGP, Mr H.J. Dora, was acting as a TDP functionary, the BJP leader asked whether the police acted as Congress party functionaries during their regime. The Congress was creating trouble when everything was peaceful, he said adding that the Congress' main ambition was to attain power by hook or by crook.

Referring to the remarks made by the APCC president, Mr Satyanarayana Rao, that the TDP government would collapse within six months as several party leaders were unhappy over the power tariff hike, he said,``The problem is not power tariff hike, but they want power.'' He also flayed the Congress for organising a dharna programme on the premises of the Assembly violating the norms.

The Congress had no moral right to launch an agitation against the power tariff hike as they were responsible for the mess in the power sector, he said and called upon the Congress and Communists parties to play the role of Opposition parties instead of resorting to violence and creating law and order problems in the name of agitations and protests. Reiterating that the BJP was for the introduction of reforms in the power sector, he said they were urging the Government to reexamine the power tariff hike for the farmers of Telangana and Rayalaseema regions. He said that they would meet the APERC soon and urge them to reduce the tariff hike for farmers of upland mandals.

On Jammu and Kashmir's autonomy issue, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu made it clear that the Centre would not give autonomy but it would give more powers to the troubled border State.

He said,``No state in the country would be given autonomy by the Centre. We are ready to give more powers to the states. They should know the meaning of anatomy of autonomy.''

He expressed confidence that the National Democratic Alliance would not agree to autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir. He said the BJP Government was against putting the clock back -- a return to the pre-1953 situation in the State.

The State BJP president, Mr C Ramachandra Reddy, and the BJP Legislature Party leader, Mr. Indrasena Reddy, were present.

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Section  : Southern States
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