Bangalore — Mr. L. K. Advani, BJP general secretary, on Sunday took strong exception to the proposal to build a new residence for the Prime Minister, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, at a cost of Rs 2 crore.
Referring to reports in the press, Mr. Advani said that the residence of the Prime Minister was a permanent institution and needed permanent address. He quoted the example of the official residence of the British Prime Minister 10, Downing Street.
Mr. Advani said that shifting of the Prime Minister’s residence from Teen Murti itself was
Wrong. He said the proposed residence of the Prime Minister would become a _perembulatory place instead of an official residence. He said his party would raise the issue in Parliament during the next session.
He said that psychopaths in the party and bureaucracy may try to justify it in the name of security. He said that Indira Gandhi was not killed because her residence was insecure. Even in the best protected fortress, the tragedy could have taken place because of the failure at the level of selecting security personnel.
Mr. Advani said he was amazed at the observation of the Prime Minister, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, that the resignation of Mr. P.N. Lekhi from the party to defend Satwant Singh, one of the accused in Indira Gandhi’s assassination case was eyewash. He said that Mr. Gandhi, who had given a clean chit to militant Sikh leader Bhindaranwale should not have made such a remark. He said that Mr. Lekhi resigned from the BJP because he knew that the party would not approve of his action.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 15, 1985
