09-18-2007, 07:22 PM
Queen Red-Ant pitches in
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->A retrograde step, says Brinda Karat
Special Correspondent
JAIPUR: Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat has termed the UPA government's decision to withdraw the affidavit in the Supreme Court on the Ramar Sethu issue "an act of succumbing to pressure from the communal forces."
"We supported the initial decision of the government to withdraw certain references in the text, but the full withdrawal of the affidavit and seeking three months to reconsider the issue are surely a retrograde step," she said.
"We will not tolerate any going back on the issue. A rethinking on the construction of the Sethusamudram project would surely be taken as yielding to pressure from the communal forces," Ms. Karat said at the Rajasthan College here while delivering a lecture on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal. "What kind of coalition is this? They [the Congress] did not consult the DMK on the issue before the Minister gave a statement."
"First, they botched it up by bringing in extraneous aspects in the affidavit. Talking about the sethu, they brought in the bhagwan's name. We wanted those things to be dropped from the affidavit but they totally withdrew it," Ms. Karat said.
"While the Sethusamudram project was discussed in Parliament, the Congress and the DMK had taken a clear stand on it. The project was taken up during the Vajpayee government's regime, and now his party had sensed the potential the issue had for whipping up communal passions," she said.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/18/stories/...131200.htm
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->A retrograde step, says Brinda Karat
Special Correspondent
JAIPUR: Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat has termed the UPA government's decision to withdraw the affidavit in the Supreme Court on the Ramar Sethu issue "an act of succumbing to pressure from the communal forces."
"We supported the initial decision of the government to withdraw certain references in the text, but the full withdrawal of the affidavit and seeking three months to reconsider the issue are surely a retrograde step," she said.
"We will not tolerate any going back on the issue. A rethinking on the construction of the Sethusamudram project would surely be taken as yielding to pressure from the communal forces," Ms. Karat said at the Rajasthan College here while delivering a lecture on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal. "What kind of coalition is this? They [the Congress] did not consult the DMK on the issue before the Minister gave a statement."
"First, they botched it up by bringing in extraneous aspects in the affidavit. Talking about the sethu, they brought in the bhagwan's name. We wanted those things to be dropped from the affidavit but they totally withdrew it," Ms. Karat said.
"While the Sethusamudram project was discussed in Parliament, the Congress and the DMK had taken a clear stand on it. The project was taken up during the Vajpayee government's regime, and now his party had sensed the potential the issue had for whipping up communal passions," she said.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/18/stories/...131200.htm
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