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Mulayam, Bardhan warn Vajpayee of dire consequences if Rabri is sacked

Former defence minister and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today warned the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government of "dire consequences", putting a question mark on its "survival" if the Rabri Devi-led government is dismissed.

Singh told reporters that the statements made by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Home Minister L K Advani and Defence Minister George Fernandes on the fate of the Bihar government is highly irresponsible. "It is the President's job to dismiss any state government, and the home minister saying that the government will only last a few days more is serious," he said, adding that such reports are not discussed.

Describing the Rashtriya Janata Dal government as one of the best state governments, he warned the Centre that the activists of Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha -- which mainly includes the SP and Laloo Prasad Yadav-led RJD -- will take to the roads and the Vaypayee-led government would not survive after that.

Yadav, making a scathing attack on the BJP, said the law and order situation in Bihar was far better than that of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. He demanded that a commission be set up to assess the law and order situation in these four states. "Dudh ka dudh...Pani ka pani pata chal jayega (the truth will surface up)," he said while expressing serious concern over the prevailing law and order situation in these states.

Shoot-outs, encounters, killings, fake-encounters have become the order of the day in these states and especially in UP, the law and order situation has deteriorated beyond recognition, the former UP chief minister said, and pointed out that recently a member of the human rights commission informed him that violation of human rights was very high in UP and incidents of murders and rapes are on rise. Instead of countering these problems, the BJP government is making efforts to dismiss the Rabri Devi-government.

Saying that the BJP government has failed in all fronts, the former defence minister pointed out that globally, India's recognition has hurt in the BJP regime, not say anything about the economy and social status. "The government should concentrate in eliminating these multiple problems and the common man is fed up with the prevailing scenario," he said.

Yadav, accompanied by party general secretary Amar Singh, who arrived in Bombay this morning, held talks with party leaders Raj Babbar, MP, Maharashtra SP chief Hussain Dalwai, Bombay SP chief Abu Asim Azmi, Tushar Gandhi and others.

Tomorrow, Yadav will address a rally at the Shivaji Park along with Laloo Prasad. Other senior leaders of the RLM who will be present in the rally include former Union minister Buta Singh, Ranjan Yadav and Shibu Soren.

In New Delhi, the Communist Party of India-Marxist today said the Uttar Pradesh government deserved to be sacked more than the Bihar government.

''The CPI-M is opposed to many of the policies of the Rabri Devi government. But deteriorating law and order cannot be the ground to invoke Article 356. By that criteria, the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh would be a prime candidate for dismissal,'' a statement from the party said.

According to the party, the move to impose President's rule in bihar is being done to ''serve partisan interests.''

Such a step will be totally unconstitutional and would be another instance of the arbitrary misuse of Article 356, the CPI-M warned.

The Communist Party of India general secretary A B Bardhan, too, has condemned Vajpayee for his statement on the dismissal of the Bihar government under Article 356 of the Constitution and urged the Centre to desist from any such move.

In a statement in Madras, Bardhan, who is in the city in connection with the 17th party congress, said the Centre's move was "politically motivated".

It was clear from the circumstances that the Centre was considering dismissal of the Rabri Devi government under pressure from the Samata Party, a constituent of the ruling BJP-led coalition at the Centre and the Bihar unit of the BJP, he said.

He said no "immediate reason" could be cited and there was no justification for the move.

The BJP and its partners have waited for the end of the Parliament session to carry out their gameplan, which he said was not actuated by any desire to bring about a radical improvement in the situation in the state.

Meanwhile, in Bhubaneswar, BJP president Kushabhau Thakre today favoured imposition of President's rule in Bihar to improve the deteriorating law and order situation.

Addressing a press conference, Thakre said though the party had time and again announced its policy not to use Article 356, Bihar would be an exception as it was ruled by one of the worst governments in the country. The sooner it was dismissed the better it would be, he added.

Replying to a question, Thakre said India should not sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty even if Pakistan signed it as it was discriminatory in nature.

The BJP president said the government was committed to the Swadeshi ideology. He dismissed the Swadeshi Jagran Manch's allegation that the BJP was anti-Swadeshi, saying it was their opinion.

Thakre denied that the government was compromising on its agenda to please All India Anna DMK chief Jayalalitha. He said the government had not compromised anywhere as far as its agenda was concerned.

UNI

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