Wednesday, Apr 10, 2002
Wednesday, Apr 10, 2002 |
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By K.V. Prasad
The Front, consisting of the Left parties, the Samajwadi Party and the Janata Dal (Secular), will hold a protest rally on April 17 in Jantar Mantar here, demanding Mr. Modi's ouster. It will also call for firm steps to end the continuing violence in the State and demand action against the culprits responsible for the recent riots. And it will urge the Centre to ensure that the recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission on investigation and trial are immediately implemented. Similar protest rallies are proposed in all the district headquarters in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere in the country. On the other hand, the Samata Party, which had, through its spokesman, Shambu Shrivastwa, asked for Mr. Modi's removal on Sunday, made an about turn. Its president, V. V. Krishna Rao, said in a statement that the peaceful conduct of panchayat polls in the State recently indicated that normality was gradually returning and that violence, which has been rocking Gujarat for over a month, was under control. "It (the Samata) does not believe that a change of leadership in Gujarat is the answer to heated emotions. Strong Government machinery, acting without fear or favour to ensure that each and every citizen is protected, rehabilitated and reassured of justice is the need of the hour... no individual or community can be made scapegoats for short-term politics,'' he said. This abrupt reversal is understood to have come about after some arm-twisting by the BJP — the Samata leader and Defence Minister, George Fernandes, is said to have yielded to pressure from the establishment. The JD (U) and the Lok Janshakti demanded the dismissal of the Modi Government and the imposition of Central rule. The JD (U) spokesman, Mohan Prakash, said the continuing violence showed that ``lumpen elements'' had taken control of the State and expressed the apprehension that the impact of the events in Gujarat would not be limited to any party or the State but the whole country. Making a similar demand, the Lok Janshakti Party spokesman, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, said Gujarat "continues to burn as the Narendra Modi Government looks the other way.'' The party alleged that the condition of relief camps was pathetic and that the minority community was not being provided adequate relief material. It also demanded a CBI probe into the violence and said the culprits who had taken part in the riots should be booked under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Meanwhile, in a joint statement, the Front leaders said instead of dealing firmly with the "rampaging gangs," the Gujarat administration had, "in a shocking manner, connived with their criminal activities.'' "The Constitution has been trampled upon and the State administration is totally biased against citizens who belong to the minority community. The Vajpayee Government has done nothing to check this brazen violation of the Constitution and the rule of law, and the BJP defends the indefensible role of the Chief Minister,'' the joint statement issued by the Front chairman, Jyoti Basu, the convener, Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP), the general secretaries, Harkishan Singh Surjeet (CPI-M), A. B. Bardhan (CPI), Debabrata Biswas (AIFB) and K. Pankajakshan (RSP), and the former Prime Ministers, H. D. Deve Gowda (JD-S), and V. P. Singh, said.
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