The Hindu : 'Army must maintain law and order in Gujarat'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 03, 2002

National

National

'Army must maintain law and order in Gujarat'
By Javed M. Ansari

NEW DELHI, MARCH 2. The Congress is planning to step up its demand that the Army be entrusted with the responsibility of enforcing law and order in the disturbed areas of Gujarat. Senior party leaders have been monitoring the developments in the communally- ravaged State and are clearly dissatisfied with the Government's refusal to put the Army in-charge of enforcing the law.

The Congress is unlikely to relent and may stage a `dharna,' along with other friendly Opposition parties, in Parliament House to press its demand. The Leader of the Opposition and Congress chief, Sonia Gandhi, will lead the `dharna.' Ms. Gandhi first made the demand when the Congress delegation led by her called on the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, on Thursday night, and at the meeting of senior political leaders with Mr. Vajpayee on Friday. The Opposition MPs had also petitioned the President, K. R. Narayanan, with a similar demand on Friday.

The Congress leaders argue that the Government's decision to deploy the Army in sensitive areas of Gujarat falls far short of what is needed to rein in the communal elements and enforce the rule of law. And that the rationale behind their demand to make the Army in-charge is that mere deployment has failed to bring about a change in the situation. Moreover, when the troops are deployed they have to take orders from the civil administration, which the Congress believes is ``reluctant'' to put an end to the carnage in the State. It feels that the Narendra Modi Government looked the other way when communal violence continued unabated.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National