From News Dispaches HYDERABAD: The Haryana Chief Minister Devi Lal, on Tuesday described the Centre as a “five star government” and some of Rajiv Gandhi’s men as “paratroopers.”
The Jat leader termed as “paratroopers” those colleagues of Rajiv Gandhi who could not get themselves elected from their own states. “Such men were paradropped into Congress I pockets in other states so that they could get elected,” he remarked.
He referred to the Union Home Minister, Buta Singh and the Lok Sabha speaker, Balram Jhakkar, who had been elected from Rajasthan though they belonged to Punjab. The Foreign Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and the Human Resources Mr. I Shiv Shankar of Andhra Pradesh also figured in Devi Lal’s paratrooper list for having been elected to the Lok Sabha from Maharashtra and the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat respectively.
My main fight is against these paratroopers,” Devi Lal declared.
Film Stars & TV Stars
The Centre was a “five star government” since’ if was run by film stars, air stars, industry stars. and a T.V. star.
The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Satish Sharma was a Doon star, the air star was Rajesh Pilot an air force pilot and the industry stars included Dhirubhai Ambani of Reliance Industries.
“The TV star is none but Rajiv Gandhi himself for day in and day out he keeps appearing on the television, Devi Lal said, adding that the nation was being mislead through the TV.
“Doordarshan is the biggest political danger to the nation, the Jat leader declared advising viewers to keep their TVs shut except for programmes like Ramayan and Mahabharat.
The Haryana Chief Minister said about two months back the Centre had written to state governments saying it would give 50 percent subsidy for every TV established in panchayats.
In Haryana 1,800 TVs were to be established under the proposal “but I turned it down,” Devi Lal said, “Why should I invite an enemy (Rajiv Gandhi) in my territory that too paying half the amount,” the Jat leader asked.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 26, 1989
