Date:08/12/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/12/08/stories/2004120812271400.htm

National

NDA delegation to look into `police harassment'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, DEC. 7. A delegation of four to five MPs of the National Democratic Alliance will soon leave for Chennai to look into allegations of police harassment and torture of employees of the Kanchi Mutt, the Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson, V.K. Malhotra, told reporters here today. The names would be finalised in consultation with the NDA convener, George Fernandes.

Mr. Malhotra said the party had taken note of allegations of long police interrogation of the Mutt employees and reports on the health of the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Jayendra Saraswati, being held in the Vellore jail as an accused in the Sankararaman murder case. The NDA team would look into these allegations and violations of human rights and report to NDA leaders.

Several leaders of the NDA and the BJP have already visited the seer in jail.

At the BJP parliamentary party meeting this morning, decisions taken at the NDA meeting last evening were endorsed — the party, in coordination with its NDA parties, would continue with its protest against the ``tainted ministers'' in the United Progressive Alliance Government.

The decision by the Central Bureau of Investigation to register cases against the former BJP president, Bangaru Laxman, and the former Samata Party president, Jaya Jaitly, in connection with the Tehelka scandal was described by party leaders as an ``act of revenge''.

Mr. Malhotra indicated that the BJP could decide to take up this issue in Parliament while alleging that the Government was registering cases against political opponents and at the same time closing existing cases against those in its political camp.

The Leader of the Opposition, L.K. Advani, who addressed the parliamentary party meeting, asked MPs to attend Parliament regularly and blamed the Central Government's ``step-motherly treatment'' of BJP-ruled States for the water crisis in Rajasthan and the electricity cuts in Madhya Pradesh. The Centre was also blamed for not having enough legislative business ready for Parliament to enact now that the Opposition could not be blamed for stalling its functioning.

Mr. Malhotra told reporters that the BJP had decided to insist on a debate under Rule 184 in the Lok Sabha on rising prices. He said if forced to vote at the end of the debate the Left parties would be exposed — either they would vote with the Government and show that their opposition to the rising prices was hollow or they would oppose the Government and reveal the cracks in the United Progressive Alliance.

The main Opposition party also demanded a statement from the Prime Minister on the verbal duel between two Cabinet Ministers — Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan. ``Serious allegations were made and it is not a family affair between them or even just a UPA issue. The truth about the so-called Rs. 800 crore file (referred to by Mr. Prasad) should come out before the nation,'' Mr. Malhotra said.

``We will continue to daily ask the Prime Minister what he intended doing about this allegation,'' Mr. Malhotra said.