UPA threat to federal structure, says BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday attacked the United Progressive Alliance government for allegedly breaching the federal set-up by targeting opposition-ruled states and warned of legal recourse if this was not stopped.

A day after the BJP national executive took on Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the issue of corruption, senior BJP leader L K Advani sent a blunt message to the Centre that his party will look at such options to combat attacks on opposition-ruled states.

Delivering his valedictory address here, Advani said, "If this attitude of the Centre continues then, along with our political fight, the BJP will also look for a legal recourse to combat it." He criticised the UPA government for using governors in states as its "political agents" in NDA ruled states.

Earlier, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi moved a resolution on how the UPA regime posed a grave threat to the federal structure of the country by making "hostile, insidious and politically colourable" attacks on BJP and National Democratic Alliance-run states.

The resolution, which was seconded by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, alleges that the Centre was diminishing financial support to NDA ruled states, misusing Governors as political agents, and forming bodies like Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council and the National Investigation Agency which the party said are acting against the federal spirit

The BJP demanded "full and immediate" implementation of the Sarkaria Commission's recommendations, setting up a forum to fight against attacks and discrimination by the Centre and greater empowerment of the Inter-State Council. It wanted free appointments of chiefs of the CBI, CAG and CVC to avoid misuse of these agencies.

"The Congress-led UPA government has breached this dharma more than any other government in free India. It has breached it through insidious and colourable attacks on the states and their domain. These are pincer attacks as they are made by misusing investigative agencies," Modi said.

The BJP alleged that the NAC was contributing to usurping powers of states by the Centre. "The NAC has drafted a perverse legislation-the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill. It is ill-conceived and it proceeds with an assumption that the majority community is always the perpetrator of communal violence. Reverse discrimination in its worst form!" the resolution stated.

It also accused the Centre of misusing the NIA. "By setting up the National Investigation Agency the central government now obviously wants to take upon itself the responsibility of fighting terror by sidetracking the states," Modi said.

Modi has a running feud with the Centre on the Sohrabuddin encounter, the post-Godhra riots and other cases. He alleged that NIA has taken away the law-making powers of the states.

The resolution also mentions BJP's Hindutva agenda by talking of making efforts at all levels to build a grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya and stopping cow-slaughter, which it claimed was continuing blatantly despite a ban on it in the state.

The BJP has also set-up a 22-member team under former Assembly Speaker Kesari Nath Tripathi to prepare a vision document for the state.