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NEW DELHI, MARCH 4. Putting up a united front, prominent Opposition leaders today asked the Gujarat Government to curb violence in the State and called upon the Centre to fulfil its bounden duty of providing protection to the people there. Expressing concern that violence was still continuing, a meeting of the Opposition leaders criticised the State Government for its ``abject'' failure to protect the lives and property of the people. ``We are of the view that without the criminal negligence, if not connivance of the State Government, such dastardly events could not have happened,'' they said in a statement. The meeting was held at the initiative of the Congress president and Leader of the Opposition, Sonia Gandhi, and attended by the former Prime Minister, Chandra Shekhar, Somnath Chatterjee of the CPI(M), G.M. Banatwala of the Muslim League, Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad of the RJD, Ramji Lal Suman of the Samajwadi Party and representatives of other parties. It was the first meeting of Opposition leaders convened by Ms. Gandhi during the Budget session of Parliament. At a press conference later, Mr. Chatterjee said the country was passing through a ``very serious crisis'' in the face of the continuing violence in Gujarat. He alleged that the Army was not effectively deployed and demanded ``action'' from the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee. ``What is the good of the Prime Minister saying that the incidents are shameful? Why does he not take action? He does not seem to have even pulled up his party's Chief Minister in Gujarat,'' the veteran CPI(M) leader said. He accused the BJP-VHP combine of indulging in a ``sinister campaign'' against the Opposition by spreading the false propaganda that it had not condemned the attack on the Sabarmati Express in Godhra. ``All parties had condemned the Godhra incident. No violence is justifiable.'' The deputy leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, Shivraj Patil, said the violence had spread to newer areas and even in curfew-bound areas, arrangements had not been made for the distribution of food and relief. ``The ghastly incidents that have happened in Gujarat have not only brought shame on our country but will also affect its unity and integrity,'' the joint statement said. The parties demanded that relief camps with adequate security be immediately set up in all disturbed areas and that those affected be provided with medicines, food and other necessities. They appealed to the people to maintain peace and communal harmony, which alone could promote national integration. ``People should not be provoked by the instigation provided by policies and actions of the obscurantist forces, masquerading as political parties,'' they said. Ms. Gandhi also wrote to Mr. Vajpayee, urging him to arrange for the visit by an all-party delegation to the affected areas at the earliest. She said that at the meeting today, the Opposition leaders had expressed the need for such a delegation to assess the situation. Meanwhile, the Congress spokesman, S. Jaipal Reddy, denied that the arrested municipal councillor of Godhra, Mohammad Hussain Kalatha, belonged to the Congress. The councillor had contested as an Independent and defeated the Congress candidate in the civic polls. ``It is a big lie being spread by the BJP's propaganda apparatus,'' he added.
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