M A I N   N E W S

Sayeed to meet floor leaders today
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 18
Deputy Speaker P.M. Sayeed has convened a meeting of the floor leaders of various political parties in the Lok Sabha tomorrow in a bid to break the continuing deadlock over the admissibility of a motion in Parliament to discuss the Gujarat issue.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the fourth consecutive day today without transacting any business as both Treasury and Opposition Benches stuck to their demands that the discussion on Gujarat should be held under Rule 193 and 184 respectively.

Though there were reports that a meeting of the party leaders would be held this morning, Mr Sayeed preferred to give more time till tomorrow, sources said.

Later, talking to newspersons outside his chamber, Mr Sayeed said he would try his best to bring an amicable settlement.

While the Opposition is demanding a discussion on the issue under Rule 184 which entails voting, the ruling party, apparently unsure of how the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and other allies would vote on the issue, wanted the discussion under Rule 193, which does not lead to voting.

Meanwhile, the People’s Front ruled out dilution of its stand on the Gujarat issue and decided to persist with its demand for a discussion on it under a censure motion till the government agreed to it or removed Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

A delegation of the front will visit the trouble-torn areas of Gujarat, including Godhra, and the relief camps on April 24 to assess the situation, Mr Gowda said, adding that any others wanting to join them “were welcome”.

Among those present at the meeting were Mr Jyoti Basu, Mr Sitaram Yechury (CPM), Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mr Amar Singh (Samajwadi Party), Mr A.B. Bardhan (CPI), Mr Abani Roy (RSP) and Mr Debabrata Biswas (AIFB).

In a parallel development, a conclave of BJP’s allies is also on the cards to discuss the situation arising out of the continued violence in Gujarat. This was stated by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, though he insisted that it was not part of any pressure tactics.

He allayed fears that the conclave was aimed at having a confrontation with the BJP and said “such a meeting would help in better performance of the NDA”. 

RSS slams NDA allies
Tribune News Service and UNI

Nagpur, April 18
The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) today flayed the allies of the BJP in the ruling NDA at the Centre for seeking the ouster of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

“The Opposition demanding the resignation of a ruling party Chief Minister or the Prime Minister over certain issues is not unusual, but the NDA allies clamouring for the head of Mr Modi for the Gujarat violence is crossing the limits”, RSS spokesman M.G. Vaidya said today.

The RSS felt that the NDA allies were “transgressing the limits”, Mr Vaidya told reporters here.

“If Mr Modi’s resignation could be demanded for the continued violence in Gujarat, then the Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, where insurgency has continued for years, and Bihar, where caste clashes have taken so many lives in the past, should resign”, he said, indicating the Sangh’s support to the beleaguered Gujarat Chief Minister.

Referring to Mr Naidu’s call for the head of Mr Modi, Mr Vaidya said Andhra Pradesh had witnessed a large number of killings by the People’s War Group (PWG) over the years, adding that in that case even the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s resignation should be sought.

Defending the continuance of Mr Modi, Mr Vaidya said the RSS felt that the Gujarat Government had taken whatever steps possible to contain the violence.

“If the government had not taken steps, over 90 lives would not have been lost in Gujarat in police and Army firing on mobs indulging in violent incidents”, he said.

New Delhi: BJP MPs and ministers from Gujarat on Thursday charged the Congress and other Opposition parties with trying to destabilise the state government by launching a misinformation campaign against it.

At a meeting here, the party members, including former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, said they were appalled by the misinformation campaign being carried out against the elected government of the state, its administration and police.

“There is a conscious attempt to destabilise the government in the state and halt the economic development which has been taking place in Gujarat,” a statement issued by them said.

NDA allies regret disruption
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 18
NDA allies today strongly criticised Opposition members for disrupting Parliament proceedings for the fourth consecutive day today.

The floor managers of NDA partners in a unanimous resolution at a meeting here, rejected the Opposition demand for a debate on Gujarat under the adjournment motion or Rule 184, which entails voting, and criticised the Opposition parties for wasting the precious time of Parliament for their “vested interest”.

They regretted that important discussions were yet to be taken up in the two Houses.

It had been decided at the Business Advisory Committee meeting that discussions on the demand for grants of three ministries — the External Affairs, the Defence and the Home — will be taken up in this session, but till now the Opposition parties had not been allowing any business to take place.

Describing the demand for an adjournment motion or a debate under Rule 184 as “untenable”, they said they could agree to only a debate under Rule 193 on the issue.

Besides floor managers of almost all alliance partners, including the Trinamool Congress and the Janata Dal(U), the meeting was attended by Defence Minister George Fernandes and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan. The only exception was the Lok Jan Shakti.