NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday alleged that there were “planned efforts” by the Congress to create disturbances in the BJP-ruled states.

The party fielded three vice presidents S.S.Bhandari Dr. Baldev Prakash and K.R.Malkani and a general secretary Kailashpati Mishra to make the charge against the ruling Congress party at the Center at a party briefing after a two-day meeting of its central office bearers.

Party leaders were particularly critical of the Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh for his anti-BJP campaign in the party-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. They also confirmed their decision not to join the MPs National Integration Council team that was scheduled to visit Ayodhya on April 7. “It was not a fact-finding team but a motivated bid not to find facts” Bhandari remarked.

Central office-bearers held deliberations on the draft of the economic policy statement to be discussed by their national council in Gandlinagar from May 1-3. They also held preliminary discussions on political situation and international developments. The draft resolutions on these subjects would be finalized by the party national executive in Gandlinagar on April 30.

The party leaders cited the following instances in support of their charge against the Congress Ayodhya developments and the Home Minister S.B.Chavans threat to invoke Article 356 Arjun Singh’s campaign in MP and UP and Congress leader’s propaganda against the Bhairon Singh Shekhawat ministry in Rajasthan.

Bhandari said it appeared that there was no unified command of the Congress party and the Government. It appeared that there was no control and there was an anti-BJP campaign all over Bhandari said. He contended that the evidence of anti-BJP campaign could be found in what Arjun Singh was doing because he was not merely a party leader but a Union Minister. Asked whether they would blame ¢ the Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Rao for all this Bhandari said Rao was not asserting his authority.

To a query about what they thought about the Prime Ministers proposed visit on April 7 to certain areas in MP where starvation deaths had reportedly taken place Bhandari said he was welcome to personally see the situation. “It would be good if the Prime Minister made an objective assessment” he said BJP leaders vehemently denied that the Madhya Pradesh Governor had sent an adverse report against the State Government in this regard.

Dr. Baldev Prakash referred to the situation in Punjab after the election He said the party held a state-level rally in Ludhiana in May as a “long drawn struggle” was needed to oppose those wanting to establish a theocratic State. Kailashpati Mishra asserted that the party would continue its campaign for the removal of the Laloo Prasad Yadav government in Bihar.

Article extracted from this publication >> April 17, 1992