Date:19/02/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/02/19/stories/2003021904651100.htm

National

PM upset with partymen for not refuting charges

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI FEB.18. Exercised over the political storm caused by the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Digvijay Singh, on the cow slaughter issue, Bharatiya Janata Party MPs today demanded that the Centre act expeditiously to ban cow slaughter throughout the country. But to their surprise the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, who was chairing the BJP parliamentary party meeting, chided them for acting in a defensive manner and not taking on the Chief Minister.

It was with some trepidation that several party MPs from Madhya Pradesh — Uma Bharati, Kailash Joshi, Sumitra Mahajan and others — protested that the Youth Congress had put up posters everywhere in the State saying: "gau hamari mata hai, Atal Behari khata hai (cow is our mother, but Atal Behari eats it)."

An angry Prime Minister said out that during elections political parties would do mischief but why should the BJP be defensive, why were the charges not met? "Do you expect me to refute the allegation and say that I do not eat beef," he is reported to have asked.

The Prime Minister wanted to know what the BJP had been doing in Madhya Pradesh, why it had not strongly countered Digvijay Singh's allegation about "growing beef exports", during the four years of his Government's rule, and, worst that he, Mr. Vajpayee, ate beef. Why was the BJP defensive on this, he wanted to know. When the State MPs said they had organised rallies to counter this, Mr. Vajpayee looked displeased, that was clearly not enough.

Mr. Vajpayee described as a ''lie'' the Congress allegation and said there was a ban on beef exports from India, and, therefore there was no question of increasing exports. Barring a few States cow slaughter was banned in most.

Later, the BJP party spokesperson, V.K. Malhotra, said there was unanimity of view in the party on the need for an all-India ban on cow slaughter. And the Vajpayee Government would consider bringing a bill on this.

The party president, Venkaiah Naidu, is reported to have asked MPs to "speak aggressively" on the subjects of religious conversion, POTA and national security. A cell would soon be set up in the party to monitor the work of MPs in their constituencies and their effectiveness in Parliament.

Later, Mr. Malhotra indicated that his party was ready for a CBI inquiry into the alleged "sex scandal'' involving some Punjab Ministers in Gujarat, but such an inquiry should also cover the "goings-on" in Punjab (where the Congress is ruling).