Thursday, Aug 22, 2002
Thursday, Aug 22, 2002 |
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By Our New Delhi Bureau
Even as the Leader of the Opposition, Sonia Gandhi, wrote to the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, seeking his intervention in ensuring that nothing was done in Gujarat to further divide the people of the State, the BJP spokesman, Arun Jaitley, said the yatra was just another political activity. "All the other parties have organised major political rallies in recent months. Even Ms. Gandhi held a rally in Gujarat while some areas were still under curfew.'' In her letter to the Prime Minister, Ms. Gandhi said "while normal political activity must go on, such activity should be undertaken strictly in a manner that promotes, and not weakens, communal harmony in the State.'' Further, "there should be at least an informal understanding between all political parties not to do anything in the pursuance of their legitimate political objectives that will cause further divide and tension among the citizens.'' Unlike in her June 29 letter, in which she urged Mr. Vajpayee to dissuade the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, from undertaking the gaurav yatra that was first planned for early July, Ms. Gandhi this time round did not make any such categorical demand. Citing the Election Commission findings, which stood testimony to the fact that the wounds caused by the recent communal violence in the State had not yet healed, she urged the Prime Minister to advise the Chief Minister in this regard; keeping in mind the "over-arching aim of maintaining and consolidating peace and amity among the people of Gujarat.'' The issue also featured at today's routine briefing by both parties with the Congress spokesman, Anand Sharma, asking: "What qualitative change has taken place in Gujarat since early July when the yatra was first scheduled, and then postponed at the behest of Ms. Gandhi and others?'' Of the view that the yatra ought to be scrapped, the Congress maintained that it was a "provocative move'' aimed at fanning communal passions. Countering the BJP defence of it being a "legitimate political activity,'' Mr. Sharma said that instead of providing the healing touch, the BJP was trying to pry open festering wounds. For its part, the BJP stuck to its guns; questioning its critics for suggesting that the gaurav yatra should not be taken out even after the "State has returned to normalcy.'' "Legitimate political activity is an essential ingredient of the human rights of party members,'' Mr. Jaitley said; adding that it was "purely a party affair'' and not a State Government programme as is being suggested by the detractors. Meanwhile, the Congress was also critical of the Gujarat Governor, Sundar Singh Bhandari's advocacy of the Modi Government stance on elections in the State. "He has reduced the office of the Governor. Instead of functioning as a Governor, he has behaved like a spokesperson of the BJP and the Gujarat Government.'' However, the Congress had not asked for his resignation or removal as it "is futile to expect the BJP to uphold the dignity of the constitutional office or recognise what moral grounds are.''
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