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PM raps oppn for playing politics: Gujarat quake

PM raps oppn for playing politics: Gujarat quake

Author: Navhind Times Correspondent
Publications: The Navhind Times, Panaji, Goa
Dated: February 28, 2001

In an unusual display of anger and outrage, the Prime Minister, Mr. A B Vajpayee, today lambasted the opposition on the floor of the Lok Sabha for belittling the efforts of the Keshubhai Patel government in Gujarat in handling the serious problems arising out of the devastating earthquake in the state.

The Prime Minister appeared to be particularly peeved at the insinuation by the opposition parties and his government at the Centre and the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state had discriminated against Harijans and Muslims in distribution of relief material.

The former Lok Sabha speaker, Mr. Shivraj Patil's bid to assuage the Prime Minister, by saying that the idea was not to cast aspersions against the government but only to bring to the notice of all concerned what was being said on the ground, Mr. Vajpayee flared up even more.

"It would have been alright if such charges of discrimination were uttered once or twice, but what does this constant refrain supposed to mean?" he asked.

Mr. Vajpayee went to the extent of charging that the propaganda of discrimination was being carried out "in a planned manner" from the very first day of the earthquake and it had been picked up by the foreign press, damaging India's image.

The sight of the angry Prime Minister prompted other senior government ministers, including the Home Minister, Mr. L K Advani, to join issue and assert that the charges levelled against the Gujarat government were totally baseless and an absolute injustice.

Asserting that "Gujarat sarkar ki pramanikta par koyee ungli nahi utha sakta (Nobody can raise an accusing finger at the sincerity of the Gujarat government)," both Mr. Vajpayee and Mr. Advani pointed out that the Chief Minister had replied to the discrimination charge at the all party meeting, saying that anybody who would have done any discrimination had committed paap (sin) and that he would take action if any specific instance were brought to his notice.

The anger and anguish of Mr. Vajpayee and Mr. Advani only brought into focus what the Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the House, Ms Sonia Gandhi, told the agitated BJP members on Monday that "the truth is going to rebound on you if you were not prepared to listen to it."

Mr. Vajpayee's outburst during his intervention at the fag end of the debate came so suddenly that the opposition was too stunned for a while to grasp the import of his remarks about a divided House even in the hour of crisis.

The leader of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, Mr. Somnath Chatterjee, however, soon jumped to his feet to assert that "everyone wants to meet the Gujarat disaster unitedly and we are not divided on the subject."

The Samajwadi Party leader Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav cried that such remarks c oming from the Prime Minister would send a wrong message that "we are opposed to relief measures."

An irrepressible Mr. Vajpayee, however, asserted that the opposition had launched a tirade of allegations and affirmed that there had been absolutely no discrimination and that all such charges were baseless.
 


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