The Hindu : Defeat `fascist designs' of BJP, allies, says Congress

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 22, 2002

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National

Defeat `fascist designs' of BJP, allies, says Congress

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI SEPT. 21. A mahasammelan of the Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes 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 gave a call to all sections, including the backward classes and the 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 Congress stalwarts, including the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, political secretary to the 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 the Delhi Mayor, Jaishree Panwar, attended the conference.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Dikshit announced that a SC/ST Commission would be constituted soon for the welfare of these sections.

The Government would accord priority to the problems of safai karamcharis, she said, adding that a high-power committee had been constituted to look into the problems of the landless people who had been allotted land under the 20-point programme.

Criticising the BJP-led Government at the Centre for trying to curtail the powers of the Delhi Government, Ms. Dikshit said it was a political conspiracy aimed at weakening the Congress regime. Such an 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, she charged.

Ms. Soni said the downtrodden and the weaker sections had no place in its scheme of things of the NDA Government. What was most shocking was that more than two dozen parties who were part of the coalition were silent over the gory incidents in Gujarat that had taken place under the patronage of local BJP leadership.

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