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Cabinet to discuss amendments
NEW DELHI, DEC. 5. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, today said the Union Cabinet would discuss tomorrow amendments to the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance. Replying to questions in this regard at an Iftar hosted by the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, he said ``the Cabinet will discuss amendments to POTO tomorrow.'' However, he did not elaborate on the amendments. Mr. Vajpayee declined to comment when asked whether the Government was considering the convening of a joint session of Parliament to adopt the Bill if it failed in the Rajya Sabha.
As reporters shot more questions, Dr. Abdullah deftly took the Prime Minister away.
- PTI
Cong. accepts challenge
By Javed M. Ansari
NEW DELHI, DEC. 5. The battlelines are drawn, and neither side is prepared to compromise on the controversial POTO. While the BJP had already threatened to convene a joint session of Parliament to get the Bill passed and the Opposition has refused to back down and promised to ``fight till the end'' for civil liberties.
``The Government has been on a confrontationist course from the very beginning, but we accept their challenge,'' said the Congress spokesperson, Mr. Jaipal Reddy. He, of course, admitted that there was a provision in the Constitution for such a recourse. He also sought to put the onus of the confrontation on the BJP which, he said, was intent on gaining political mileage rather than developing a consensus on the issue. ``The consultations (all-party meeting convened by Mr. Vajpayee) that they held last night were farcical,'' said Mr. Reddy.
He rebutted the BJP argument that it was the Opposition's rigid attitude on the issue which was leading to a confrontation. The Government was well aware of the fact that the ordinance would not pass muster in the Rajya Sabha, yet it had issued an ordinance in a bid to present the issue as a fait accompli to the country, he added.
Mr. Reddy said the Government had not only failed to make a convincing case, its action had also laid bare its intention of deriving political mileage from the issue. ``Mr. Advani's statement that it was a win win situation for the BJP politically is but one example of their political desperation,'' said Mr. Reddy.
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