PM expresses concern over U.P. firing

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 23. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, today expressed concern over the police firing on farmers at a village near Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh and said the State Government has been asked to give a report. He was responding to questions raised as soon as the Rajya Sabha assembled this morning. Mr. Vajpayee said that whatever happened was a serious matter and the circumstances in which the firing took place on farmers was a matter of concern. He said the House would be informed of the details and the State Government had been asked to send a report.

Mr. Amar Singh, Mr. Rama Shankar Kaushik and Mr. Janeswar Mishra, Samajwadi Party MPs, charged that the law and order situation in U.P. had deteriorated and that police had committed excesses. Mr. Mishra wondered whether the police in Baghpat had been `emboldened' after Mr. Ajit Singh, who represents the constituency in the Lok Sabha, had become a Cabinet Minister.

Later, addressing a press conference, the SP General Secretary, Mr. Amar Singh, demanded the resignation of the Government of Mr. Rajnath Singh, which was echoed by the Communist Party of India. The SP General Secretary charged that `cruel methods' were adopted to `crush the confidence' of the Samajwadi Party workers.

The Delhi unit of the party held a demonstration in the capital demanding the arrest of those involved in the incident and dismissal of the BJP-led U.P. Government.

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