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PM's advice to BJP MPs

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI APRIL 22. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, today advised his party's MPs to refrain from airing their views in public on sensitive issues such as Value Added Tax (VAT) and CENVAT. Instead they should place them before the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, and the Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, to help resolve problems at that level.

Addressing the parliamentary party meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party this morning, he said the views of specific lobbies and interest groups should not be aired as if these were the views of the party. If there were genuine problems matters should be taken up with party leaders. He hinted that self-employed persons running small businesses or engaged in manufacturing on a very small scale as well as those running a small number of powerlooms could expect some relief from the Finance Minister. The Prime Minister also pointed out that the handloom sector was not in the tax net earlier and was not being brought into it now, the party spokesperson, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, told reporters later.

Several other issues were raised by MPs. The plight of the sugarcane growers in Uttar Pradesh was mentioned and in response to that party president, Venkaiah Naidu, informed MPs that he would meet the U.P. Chief Minister, Ms. Mayawati, and make every effort to resolve the problem. This year many sugar factories have refused to buy the sugarcane crop creating a ruinous situation for many farmers.

Mr. Malhotra criticised the Congress-ruled Delhi Government for mismanaging power and water leading to major electricity cuts and water shortages. He charged that people were being charged exorbitantly for supply of water through tankers which should be free. "Sheila Dikshit (the Delhi Chief Minister) has betrayed the people and she should resign,'' Mr. Malhotra said.

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