Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday said Uttar Pradesh Governor Romesh Bhandari should be sacked for contradicting the statement of home minister Indrajit Gupta that the state was heading towards anarchy.
Vajpayee, who is to address a rally organised by the state unit of the party told newsmen that the way Bhandari was functioning, it appeared that he wanted to have his `personal rule in the state. He said Bhandari should have invited the BJP to form the government in UP s since it emerged as the single largest party.
If he thinks that BJP is unable to form the government then Bhandari should invite the party which he thinks is in a position to form a stable government. He said that the party was awaiting the Supreme Courts verdict on UP affairs. We are not going to force for a mid term elections there but have asked our party workers to be ready for fresh elections in UP.
Vajpayee maintained that the United Front government would not fall because of Congress but due to inner bickerings that have already started. He said that the Congress did not have the guts to withdraw the support to the UF. Congress has been totally wiped out in Punjab and it had lost the two prestigious seats - Nagau... and Chindwara which it had won in 1997 when there was anti-Congress wave in the country.
Referring to the move to scrap the PIL, the former Prime Minister said that it was aimed at concealing the faulty governance. The BJP would oppose this move of the UF government tooth and nail. He invited the votaries of the move to come to Bihar and see for themselves the importance of the PIL. Nothing moves in Bihar without the interference of the judiciary not even traffic and removal of garbage from the roads. Scams like Fodder and Bitumen could be unearthed due to PIL, he added.
According to him PIL is an innovation that required to be further strengthened. I do not say that PIL has not been misused but that does not mean the system should be abolished. He advocated that the courts should be given the freedom to take action those who file false PILs.
Vajpayee warned that the UF government should refrain from toying with the idea to gag the freedom of the judiciary since it was an independent body while there was no separation of power between executive and the legislative.
According to former prime minister the United Front government has failed on the governance front. If the top leaders were interested in assessing the performance of the government they should look towards Bihar where the major constituent of the UF has its government. There is total chaos in Bihar and the Laloo Prasad Yadav government has failed miserably to maintain law and order and his government was on the brink of bankruptcy.
Vajpayee made it very clear that his party would not allow the passage of Lok Pal Bill since it was aimed at protecting the interests of corrupt persons. Ridiculing the Lok Pal Bill which the United Front government was in a haste to pass in the current budget session, the former Prime Minister said that the UF government believed in total transparency but the bill provided for maintaining total secrecy. He said that the panel that would appoint the Lok Pal was faulty since it was dominated by the politicians. I feel that panel instead of having home and personnel ministers should consist of eminent citizens and public figures as the politicians might be subject of investigation in due course. Objecting the provisions of the proposed bill, Vajpayee said that it was aimed at safeguarding the interests of the corrupt politicians since the Bill prevented the Lok Pal from taking up the case that was already under consideration by an inquiry commission. Further the Bill also provides that reports against ministers
could not be tabled in the House or made public. Interestingly the proposed Bill also provides that no public servant can file lodge a complaint with the Lok Pal. Its highly objectionable as all elected representatives right from MP to panchayat levels are being recognised as public servants. This means that the MPs or for that matter MLAs could not lodge their complaints with the Lok Pal.
Vajpayee further stated that the provision of the Bill did not make it mandatory for the elected representatives to declare their assets annually and certain other provisions of the bill were bound to create confusion such as as might prejudice the security, or defence, or international relations of India (including Indias relations with the government of any other country or with any international organisation) or the investigation or detection of crime. The BJP will not allow this Bill to be adopted by Parliament.
The former prime minister also advocated for creation of separate Vananchal state. Reorganisation does not mean that Bihar will be disintegrated, he said.
