JALANDHAR: The Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Lal Krishan Advani said that the P.V Narasimha Rao government was afflicted with corruption and was undermining democratic institutions.
Addressing a public meeting here on April 4, Advani said that scandals involving the close relatives of the Prime Minister were being reported by the Press almost every day. The Government, he said, has not been able to come forward with convincing replies and added that the securities scam had severely tarnished the image of the Government.
While lashing out at the Rao government for its failure at various fronts, Advani laid stress on BJP’s stance on the Ayodhya issue. He said that he had initially regretted the demolition of the structure at Ayodhya; “because it was not in our scheme of things,” but categorically asserted that “there is nothing to feel ashamed of,” for what had happened at Ayodhya on December 6 last year. Advani said that the Kalyan Singh government in Uttar Pradesh certainly had plans to build a temple, after getting a bill passed in the state legislature.
He was addressing the rally in Punjab under its “Jan Chetna” program, though the party had mustered supporters from all over the state, the attendance at the Guru Gobind Singh stadium was far from impressive. Among others who addressed the rally were three party MPs, Madan Lal Khurana, Swami Chinmayanand and Krishan Lal Sharma, besides the president of the Punjab unit of the BJP party, Madan Mohan Mittal.
Earlier, addressing a news conference, Advani said that the Rao government was creating an emergency like situation in the country, as in the year 1975, during the regime of Indira Gandhi.
He drew a parallel between the Ramlila Ground rally addressed by Jaiparkash Narayan and the Allahabad count verdict against her in 1975, with the ban on the BJP rally at Delhi on February 25, and the landmark judgment by the Jabalpur High Court quashing the Presidential order on the dismissal of the Madhya Pradesh government. He said that the Court’s verdict had vindicated the BJP’s stand that the Central Government’s action against four BJP ruled state governments was malafide and motivated by partisan considerations.
The BJP leader criticized the statement of the Jammu and Kashmir Governor regarding holding of elections in the state within six months and said the government should first ensure the return of over 2.50 lakh Hindus, who had migrated from valley due to fear and threat of militancy.
Unless complete peace and normalcy is restored in the state, he said, the Government should not even think about starting political process in the state. He also advised the Government against involving former state Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah in the formulation of policy for the state.
Advani observed that four factors were responsible for bringing an end to militancy in Punjab which include sealing of international border and paying due respect to the decisions taken by the security forces. The sense of revulsion developed among people against the foul deeds of militants, like kidnappings, extortion and gang rape of women, was another important factor while the fourth factor was the decision of the militant outfits to attack family members of police personnel, He said that the formation of a popular government at that time was merely a “coincidence” in the state which credited the achievements of security forces to the popular government.
Advani and some other senior leaders of the party will address a public meeting at Shimla on Monday as a part of the “Jan Chema” program.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 9, 1993
