Congress not for Rabri's ouster
TNS and agencies

NEW DELHI, Sept 10 — The Congress today declined to demand the dismissal of the Rabri Devi government in Bihar and maintained that Article 356 of the Constitution should be sparingly used strictly within the Supreme Court guidelines spelt out in the S.R. Bommai case.

Party spokesman Ajit Jogi said there was an elected government in Bihar and the party endorsed the Bihar PCC's criticism of the law and order situation in the state.

Mr Jogi took exception to a Cabinet Minister's statement that the President would dismiss the Bihar Government. Such contemplation concerning the constitutional head was uncalled for and it was up to the President to take a decision on the basis of report from the state and the Cabinet recommendation.

Meanwhile reiterating its demand for the dismissal of the Rabri Devi government in Bihar, the Samata Party said that its continuation was "perilous" to the people of the state.

Talking to mediapersons, the Samata Party spokesman, Mr Digvijay Singh, said: "We have done all to put pressure on the Centre for dismissing the Bihar government". He said the party president, Mr George Fernandes and the Minister for Railways, Mr Nitesh Kumar, had even met the President, Mr K.R. Naryanan, urging him to dismiss the Rashtriya Jananta Dal Government.

Mr Singh said there were no differences among the allies supporting the BJP- led government. While every party was against the "misuse" of Article 356 of the Constitution, the Bihar "is a fit case for using" this provision, he pointed out.

The Samata’s demand received support from its ally — the BJP, whose general secretary, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu urged the Vajpayee government to intervene immediately to "save Bihar".

The law and order machinery in the state had broken down and there was no safety and security for people and property, Mr Naidu said. Political opponents of the RJD were being eliminated by mafias, he said. Most of the witnesses in various scams, like the fodder scam, were being killed, he said.

In Patna the Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes and the Railway Minister Mr Nitesh Kumar today said the Rabri Government in Bihar ‘may be dismissed any moment’.

"The Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, has already made clear the Centre’s stand on the dismissal of the Bihar Government ... it may be dismissed any moment", Mr Kumar told newsmen at the airport here.

Asked whether the Centre would wait till the return of the President Mr K.R Narayanan, who is presently on a four-nation tour, for invoking Article 356 in Bihar, he said "obviously we have to wait till his (Narayanan’s) return."

Both leaders alleged that "there is no rule of law in the state and complete anarchy has gripped Bihar in the seven-and-a half year misrule of Laloo-Rabri regimes."

On the deadline set by the Samata Party’s state unit that it would not allow entry of the two party ministers (George and Nitesh ) into Bihar if the state government was not dismissed by October 15, he said " the deadline is very far. People don’t have to wait for action against the RJD ministry till then".

Mr Kumar along with Mr Fernandes and the Union Agriculture Minister Mr Sompal arrived here from New Delhi to make an aerial survey of flood-hit areas in Bihar.