NEW DELHI (PTI): Premier P.V Narasimha Rao Dec. 10 ruled out imposition of an internal emergency in the country to restore normalcy.
In an interview the prime minister said “I don’t think U.2t will be necessary” when asked whether one of his options would be to impose on internal emergency to bring the situation under control rapidly.
Rao said he had been monitoring the situation from hour to hour from city to city and he had found that in the last 24 hours there had been “a perceptible change for the better.”
“There are some cities parts of some cities where violence still continues but we have taken very stern measures including the induction of army in all those places” he said adding that the current situation in those cities was not as bad as it was 24 or 12 hours earlier.
“There is a steady improvement” the prime minister said but what was really. Causing anxiety was that some new places were getting involved.
“Taking the whole country one has to be vigilant throughout wherever one Comes across some such trouble immediately action has to be taken It is going to be very very difficult task for some days” he said.
Rao however did not agree that there had been greater incidence of violence in the Congress-I ruled states “I don’t think that is valid. There are some Congress-l ruled states where almost nothing has happened” he said.
Replying to a question as to what he proposed to do now that the Babri Mosque was demolished Rao said “first we have to bring normalcy.” The prime minister stood by his speech made on the last independence day that there had to be the mosque but alongside there had to be a magnificent temple for Ram.
He denied that certain differences persisted within the ranks of his Congress party on the Ayodhya developments. “I don’t see any basis for speculation” he said.
According to Rao the whole issue of Ayodhya was a political one and there was nothing religious about it. “Or if there was it was distorted it was misused. That is the crux of the whole thing.”
The prime minister said the greatest need of the hour was peace and harmony and this country would go to pieces “if we leave the path of secularism.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 30, 1992
