Report

U.P. Law & Order Worries Congress

The situation in Uttar Pradesh has become a cause of concern to the Congress Party. The deteriorating law and order coupled with lack of any developmental activity contributed to the gloom that envelops the largest state of the country. As the Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, said in Rae Bareli during her recent thanks-giving visit, the successive U.P. governments bothered more about caste and communal politics than economic development of the State.

`Save U.P.' Plea to Sonia Gandhi

BACHHRAWAN, (RAE BARELI) : The Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi said at a party workers' meeting in her constituency on June 11 that law and order in Uttar Pradesh was a matter of concern and development was also at its lowest ebb.

"In the past 14-15 years when non-Congress governments have been in power in this state, development has taken a back seat. Kanoon vyasvastha ki halat bahut kharab hai aur bijli-paani-sadak ki halat bhi theek nahin hai. Now that the Congress is in power at the Centre, we will do all we can to improve the situation but it is in the larger interests of Uttar Pradesh that the Congress should strengthen itself here. I appeal to Congress workers to strengthen the party organisation at every level so that the situation can improve," she said.

Party workers who addressed the meetings also made fervent appeals to Smt. Gandhi to "topple" the Mulayam Singh Yadav government and "save" Uttar Pradesh.

Smt. Gandhi, who arrived in Rae Bareli on a two-day visit with son Rahul Gandhi to thank the voters for her victory, said that the Congress-led government at the Centre would work in accordance with people's wishes and she would personally make efforts to ensure that the government followed the common minimum programme that was designed to cater to the interests of all sections of society.

Explaining her decision of spurning the Prime Minister's post, Smt. Gandhi said that she had come into politics to serve the people and to protect the values for which the leaders of yester-years had made sacrifices.

"Besides, when everyone wants to be Prime Minister, there should be someone who can also say `no'. I am much happier today than I would have been had I accepted the post," she said.

Mounting a blistering attack on the BJP, Smt. Gandhi said that the BJP had boasted that no other party could form and run a coalition government, but the Congress had proved them wrong. "These elections have been important because they have proved that Indian voters have tremendous understanding and cannot be fooled by illusionary and catchy slogans. The NDA blew its own trumpet and that too, at the cost of public money but the voters could not be fooled. Any government that does not work according to people's aspirations will face similar fate," she said.

Next day, addressing party workers at Rae Bareli, Smt. Gandhi criticised the state government saying that the state had failed to make progress in the last couple of years because of the preoccupation of successive non-Congress governments with caste and communal politics.

Patil also Receives Complaints

NEW DELHI: The Union Home Minister, Shri Shivraj V. Patil said on June 11 that he had received "a number of complaints" from the State concerning the law and order situation.

Asserting that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government would continue the dialogue with separatist groups in Jammu and Kashmir, Shri Patil said a third round of dialogue with the Hurriyat Conference could be held in early July. "We will continue the dialogue with the Hurriyat Conference. It can be scheduled either in the first or second week of July.

In his first interaction with the media at North Block after taking charge of the Home Ministry about a fortnight ago, Shri Patil replied to a volley of questions: on the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), Centre-State relations, modernization of police forces, gubernatorial appointments and the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh.

Asked if his Ministry had begun the exercise of repealing POTA, as promised in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP), Shri Patil said the CMP had already explained the position. "It is not only about the Centre É it concerns the States as well. Details will be worked out, but we are committed to repealing it."

"There are existing laws; we will make use of them. If there is a necessity for bringing a new law to tackle the menace of terrorism, we will consider that also É All modalities will be considered. There is a decision in principle to repeal POTA. We will evolve a multi-pronged strategy to tackle terrorism. If a law is not useful, let us give it up. But we will not be leaving anything in vaccum," he said. Asked if the Gujarat incidents were one of the compulsions for repealing POTA, he replied in the affirmative.

Referring to the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), he said the Government was continuing the existing policy. "If there is another opinion and other related issues, we will examine them." On Left wing extremism, he said that nobody was opposed to the process of dialogue. "So far, there has not been a structured attempt. If State governments want to do it, I will leave it to them. The idea is to give up violence."

Would the new Government remove Governors appointment during the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime? "There are conventions and I think we will follow conventions. There is no decision on it and we have not drawn up any guidelines."

On the crucial issue of Centre-State relations, Shri Patil sought to allay apprehensions that the Centre would hand out a "step-motherly or biased" treatment to State governments that were not favourably disposed towards it. "The Congress has a history of treating non-Congress State governments with the respect they deserve. I do not see a problem if both the Central and State governments are working for the greater good, well-being of the people and progress and development of the country."

When a questioner asked how Article 356 of the Constitution on imposition of President's rule should be used, Shri Patil said the provision should be used "appropriately in the spirit in which it has to be used."

Opposition Despondent : Rahul Gandhi

AMETHI: Asserting that the United Progressive Alliance Government at the Centre was functioning with full freedom, the Congress Member of Parliament, Shri Rahul Gandhi, said on June 9 that the Opposition was levelling allegations of "two power centers" as it had not been able to "digest" the change of regime.

"The Manmohan Singh Government is functioning with full freedom and without any interference from any quarters but those who had propagated the feel-good factor during the Lok Sabha elections are not able to digest the change of regime," Shri Gandhi said. "These are the same people who had indulged in levelling baseless allegations against my family," he said when asked to comment on reports of "two centers of power in the Union Government." Shri Gandhi said the Government had decided to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) as it had been "misused" in the past. The problem of terrorism should be sternly dealt with," Shri Gandhi said.

He dismissed the Opposition campaign against tainted Ministers in the UPA Government saying, "those BJP people who are doing the finger-pointing now are themselves tainted."

On his mother, Smt. Sonia Gandhi's refusal to accept the Prime Minister's post, Shri Gandhi said she did what an ideal Indian woman should have done. "One need not occupy the post of Prime Minister to serve the country," Shri Gandhi said. "It was a personal decision of my mother but it was a befitting reply to those who used to level baseless allegations against her and my family," Shri Gandhi said.

Asked to comment on the recent killing of a Congressman in neighbouring Rae Bareli, Shri Gandhi said that if the law and order situation was `bad' in the whole of Uttar Pradesh, it was `worse' in Rae Bareli. As an MP of the area it would be his endeavour to ensure all-round development of the constituency.

According to a report from New Delhi, the Congress said that Shri Gandhi's reported remarks on the replacement of the Samajwadi Party Government in Uttar Pradesh were based on the prevailing law and order situation in the State but parried a question whether it would withdraw support to that Government.

"The party leadership will take an appropriate view. As and when any view is taken by the party's working committee, we will promptly get back to you," the party spokesman, Shri Anand Sharma, told reporters when asked whether the Congress would review its support to the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government.

"Shri Rahul Gandhi made a comment on the serious situation prevailing in U.P. He has highlighted only what has been said during the recent Lok Sabha polls," Shri Sharma said. Earlier, on June 8, Shri Gandhi said at Jagdishpur that he would do everything possible to restart the process of development in his Amethi constituency and reopen the closed industrial units.

After addressing a meeting of Congress workers here, Shri Gandhi was, however, skeptical about the success of his efforts as he did not feel that proper cooperation would be forthcoming from the Uttar Pradesh Government. Earlier, addressing a Congress workers' meeting, Shri Gandhi praised the workers for their love and devotion to the party. He promised to look into their problems and do everything for the development of the area.