National

Mani Shanker retracts comment

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MAY 1. The Congress MP, Mani Shankar Aiyer, was forced to "withdraw'' a comment made during his speech in the debate on the censure motion in the Lok Sabha in the early hours of Wednesday.

Attacking the Defence Minister, George Fernandes, Mr. Aiyer said while Mr. Fernandes' Army was "pretending'' to guard our borders, the country was being destabilised internally in Gujarat. The Minister, he said, did not spare the Army for Gujarat in time. Had the Army been called in immediately after the Godhra carnage, the situation would have been brought under control quickly. The Army had been called in at least on two previous occasions of rioting in Godhra, and both times the violence was quickly contained. He saw in the delay in sending in the Army a deliberate plan. The treasury benches seized on his words "pretending to guard'' the borders and everyone, including Ministers, were on their feet protesting vigorously.

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