M A I N   N E W S

Basu to write to Advani today
Cong ‘not to oblige’ Centre

CALCUTTA, Sept 12 (UNI) — West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu today said he would write to Union Home Minister L.K. Advani tomorrow regarding Defence Minister George Fernandes’ “misleading” reports on West Bengal.

Talking to mediapersons here, the Chief Minister said: “The letter is being drafted and it will be sent tomorrow.” Earlier, Mr Basu said his government was not scared of the Centre’s threat to impose President’s rule in the state.

“We are not scared. We have faced such threats in the past. In fact, I have been facing such threats throughout my life,” Mr Basu told a rally of the students and youths at Esplanade here.

“We are ready to face any undemocratic and unconstitutional action of the Centre,” he said and urged the party men to launch door-to-door campaign against the Centre’s dangerous policies.

He said the BJP and the Trinamool Congress had been demanding President’s rule in the state because they won’t be able to win the assembly elections scheduled to be held next year.

Ridiculing Defence Minister George Fernandes for his threat to resign from the Union Cabinet if Article 356 was not imposed on the state, Mr Basu said: “I am sure he will not resign from the ministry and will get some benefits for the threat”.

Mr Basu said Mr Fernandes had visited only three villages and had come to the conclusion that there was no law and order in the state. The Defence Minister had not visited the districts when armed BJP and Trinamool Congress activists were attacking the Leftists, he added.

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday brushed aside media reports that it would support imposition of President’s rule on West Bengal with the party spokesman Ajit Jogi saying “the party is not ready to lend its shoulder to the BJP to shoot in West Bengal.”

Mr Jogi termed the reports that some NDA leaders were in touch with the Congress to solicit its support for the move to invoke Article 356 in West Bengal as “baseless and false.”