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Call to boycott BJP, partners

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI SEPT. 21 .A Mahasammelan of the Scheduled Castes and Backward Class organisations, under the leadership of the Dalit leader and former Congress MLA, Jaikishen, today gave a call for boycott of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies in the NDA Government for their anti-Dalit policies and failure to protect the socio- economic and political interests of these classes.

The Mahasammelan, held at the Talkatora Stadium here, was presided over by the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president, Subhash Chopra, who also gave a call to all sections, including Backward Classes and minorities, to defeat the fascist designs of the BJP and its allies and repose faith in the leadership of the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi. A large number of senior Congress stalwarts, including the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, political secretary to Congress president, Ambika Sonia, AICC leaders, Natwar Singh and R.K.Dhawan, Chairman of the Congress SC/ST and Backward Class Cell, G. Venkataswamy, and Delhi Mayor, Jaishree Panwar, were also present at the one-day conference.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Dikshit announced that a SC/ST Commission would be soon constituted for the welfare of these sections. Stating that the Government would accord priority to the problems of safai karamcharis, the Chief Minister said her Government had constituted a high-power committee to go into the problems of those who had been allotted land under the 20-point programme.

Criticising the BJP-led Central Government for trying to curtail the powers of the Delhi Government, Ms. Dikshit said it was a political conspiracy aimed at weakening the Congress Government but warned that such unconstitutional move would not be allowed to succeed. All this was being done with the Assembly election in mind and at the instance of the local BJP leaders.

Ms. Ambika Soni said ever since the NDA Government came into existence, the down- trodden and weaker sections have not found any place in its scheme of things. What was most shocking was that more than two dozen parties, who are part of the coalition Government, silent over the gory incidents that have taken under the patronage of local BJP leadership in Gujarat. Ms. Soni appealed to the downtrodden and minorities to unite against the BJP and its allies and teach them a lesson during the next elections.

Mr. Jaikishen said the Scheduled Caste, Backward Classes and Dalits were solidly behind the Congress and would work tirelessly to install a Congress Government at the Centre under the leadership of Ms. Gandhi. The Mahasammelan also passed a resolution that sought restoration of plots allotted to landless under the 20-point programme, protection of interests of SC Government employees and officers, safeguarding life and property of these sections and reservation for these sections in the private sector.

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