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A 'cowardly killing', says BJP

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MARCH 26. The Bharatiya Janata Party today termed the gunning down of the former Gujarat Home Minister, Haren Pandya, as a "cowardly killing" and the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, said it was a "dastardly act" which had left a "void" that could not be filled.

The BJP said Mr. Pandya was a loyal and disciplined party soldier who had contributed to the party's growth and was loved by the people.

The party made an attempt to link the murder to the "events in Gujarat", that is, the riots. At the same time, it said that it was sure that it had nothing to do with political animosity between the slain leader and the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi.

Top BJP leaders, including the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, the party president, Venkaiah Naidu and the Union Law Minister, Arun Jaitley, besides the Gujarat affairs in-charge, Ramdas Aggarwal, will be going to Ahmedabad tomorrow for the funeral.

Mr. Naidu categorically ruled out a CBI inquiry into the killing, saying that the State police were competent to do the job and would do so "from all angles". However, later reports from Ahmedabad indicated that the Gujarat Government had decided to seek a CBI inquiry.

Mr. Naidu said that a few days ago a decision was taken to appoint Mr. Pandya as a member of the party's national executive. Ironically, the letter was posted today, the party spokesperson, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, confirmed.

In response to questions on reports of slogans raised against Mr. Modi at the hospital in Ahmedabad where Mr. Pandya was brought dead, Mr. Naqvi said that he was not aware of this. He brushed aside questions on Mr. Modi's tough stand against the selection of Mr. Pandya as a party candidate from the Ellisbridge constituency in virtual defiance of the entire party leadership. Mr. Naqvi said he did not want to discuss that even as he ruled out the possibility of Mr. Pandya's political enmity with the Chief Minister as a factor in his assassination.

In fact, Mr. Naidu said the incident "should be seen in the context of the Gujarat incidents (Godhra and post-Godhra violence)", adding that the investigations should look at "all angles".

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