BHOPAL: Home minister L.K. Advani on Sunday ruled
out the dismissal of the Joshi government in
Maharashtra and added that there was no
justification for any action against Sena chief
Bal Thackeray.
Reacting to the Congress demands following the
adverse observations made by the Srikrishna
commission on the Mumbai riots, the home minister
said there was no justification for the demand
and that the riots occurred while the Congress
was in power.
He said the law allowed the government to reject
the report of an inquiry commission. Mr Advani's
was the first official reaction of the Centre
following a high-level delegation meeting Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Saturday and
AICC president Sonia Gandhi's statements in
Mumbai on Sunday.
The home minister said army and intelligence
agencies had succeeded in containing militancy in
Jammu and Kashmir and they had killed the
military chief of the Hizbul Mujahidin Ali
Mohammad Dar on Saturday and destroyed a training
centre for militants. In the last few days, there
had been a series of successful operations
against the militants in the Valley.
According to Mr Advani, the Farooq Abdullah
government was co-operating with the Centre in
curbing militancy. He was commenting on the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad's charge against the J & K
chief minister.
He said the Vajpayee-led government would survive
despite threats from its alliance partners.
Reacting to the Akali threat to withdraw support,
the home minister said there was no problem for
the government. ``They make good copy for
newsmen,'' he commented. The Karnataka and Tamil
Nadu chief ministers had reached an agreement on
the Cauvery dispute which has gone down well with
the people in the two states, he added.
The national executive of the BJP at its meeting
in Jaipur from August 21 will discuss the
preparations for the coming assembly elections in
four states, including Madhya Pradesh. He said he
had received a report on the law and order in
Madhya Pradesh from the governor, but as home
minister he would not comment on it.
About the proposed Chhatisgarh state, he said no
new state would be formed before the assembly
elections as the Bill would be discussed only in
the winter session of Parliament.
The home minister said he has asked the officials
to reduce the security cover provided to him so
as not to cause inconvenience to people. He was
referring to the inconvenience caused at Bhopal
railway station where he arrived by the Shatabdi
express, and elsewhere in the city as movement
was restricted and regulated.