NEW DELHI: Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao believes that the responsibility of what happened at Ayodhya recently docs hot lie on him.
Speaking to foreign correspondents in the Capital Dec.11 he said “I don’t think the responsibility lies on me.
But I must hasten to add that I am as much anguished by the happenings on Sunday as anyone else and I would like to do everything possible…to put things right to atone for what has been done”
Narasimha Rao who was anxious to show that he was in charge of the situation reiterated that “my authority as Prime Minister has not been undermined in any way.”
He asserted that whatever the Union Government “had to do have been done.” According to him “there is absolutely nothing that has been left undone including the action which we have taken in the past several days and the actions which perhaps have to be taken consequently starting now”
As he has done since recently Narasimha Rao repeatedly blamed the Kalyan Singh Government for violating court orders and not keeping its commitment.
Denying Chandra Shekhars allegation that the Center had dawdled for six crucial hours before acting the Prime Minister said that he was bound by constitutional requirements which had to be fulfilled before dismissing the State Government.
According to him the “best part the most important part” of the Centers contingency plan to protect the Babri Masjid was to Station paramilitary forces at Faizabad.
But the State Government by refusing to use these forces had foiled the plan.
Narasimha Rao is of the opinion that the current disturbance will not adversely affect the country’s economic program. “Yes there will be some temporary setback because people will perhaps ask themselves whether such a situation would not persist for a long time it will not. It is only a matter of days before we come back to normal.”
He said that his Government was working out the details of rebuilding the mosque.
“After we come back to normalcy we will go into all aspects” he added.
The Prime Minister said he was monitoring the violence and was of the firm belief that noting is on its way out.
He denied allegations of police high-handedness while dealing with rioters and said that the primary objective was to quell the violence
Regarding the implementation of the ban on the communal organizations he insisted that the order would be affected in all states irrespective of the ruling party.
Asked whether the Governments actions would benefit the BJP he replied in the negative.
Commenting on the Press conference a senior foreign correspondent said that he came away with the impression that the Prime Minister was “out of touch ill-informed and cither unable or unwilling to grasp the seriousness of the crisis.” But “belatedly there seems to be some signs of evolving a strategy” to tackle the situation he said.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 30, 1992
