Congress for step-by-step approach to removing
Gujarat government
The Congress has distanced itself from the
demand made by its senior leader Sharad Pawar that the Bharatiya Janata
Party government in Gujarat be dismissed. Party spokesperson Shivraj Patil
said it favoured a step-by-step approach to prevent the beleaguered Keshubhai
Patel government from deriving political mileage.
"We do not want to take political advantage
by asking for the removal of the government," said Patil .
There were stages for imposition of Article
356 before clamping President's rule, Patil said, warning the Vajpayee
government against being complacent in instructing the state government
to take strict action against miscreants attacking Christian minority
establishments.
The Union government, he said, was competent
to direct the state government to put a stop to the violence against the
minority. The party delegation had already met President K R Narayanan
requesting him to ask the government to take stringent action to check
recurrence of such incidents.
The former Lok Sabha speaker parried all
questions on whether there were differences among party leaders over the
demand for dismissal of the Keshubhai Patel government. He said exoneration
of the state chief minister by the BJP high command would prove costly
for the party in the long run.
Patil was also non-committal about Pawar's
statement that the Congress was not consulted before naval chief Vishnu
Bhagwat was sacked. Patil said he had not gone through his party senior
leader's statement.
When mediapersons pressed the point, Patil
said, "I do not think the party was consulted on the issue." But he repeatedly
asserted that his party didn't want to behave as a irresponsible opposition
either in the case of Gujarat or in the sacking of the naval chief.
Since the latter issue related to the country
defence and security and was a "complicated one" his party did not want
to further complicate it by making "unwanted statements" on the matter.
But he said his party did feel the issue was ''ineptly handled'' by the
government.
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