<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Penalty for Muslim fixation </b>
Pioneer.com
It was the electorates' backlash against minority appeasement of the so-called secular parties that saw Nitish Kumar through, says Prafull Goradia
A substantive explanation of Mr Nitish Kumar's victory in the recent Bihar elections needs an analysis. Bihar's situation in February, when the last election took place, was about the same; yet, the results were so different. The question, therefore, is what was the glaring difference between February and November?
LJP president Ram Vilas Paswan had not promised a Muslim Chief Minister prior to the February elections; he did this only after the results were out. Whereas in the run up to the November election, a Muslim Chief Minister sounded like his one-point manifesto.
Never before had such a communalist promise been made. Another outstanding feature of the recent campaign was that RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav hardly addressed an election meeting without a look-alike of Osama bin Laden sitting on his right-hand side. He did not have such a man last time. That Mr Yadav had banked on the Muslim-Yadav combine for the last two decades was well-known. The pseudo-Osama proclaimed that Mr Yadav felt that all Muslims were extremists and followers of Al Qaeda. To many a Muslim this was an insult. I was a part of the audience in a few of the meetings and can vouch for this reaction.
Another impression I got was that the look-alike Osama outraged Hindus across the board, including a number of Valmikis and others who were sitting not far from me. This might also explain the debacle of Mr Paswan's party. I am not sufficiently familiar with Bihar; <b>but in Gujarat, the community that dreads communal riots most are the Dalits. They cannot forget the bitter experience of the Ahmedabad riots in 1969 and again in 1985</b>. The primary reason of their vulnerability is their poverty and lack of influence; the police do not respond well enough to protect them.
Mr Paswan's promise of a Muslim Chief Minister and Mr Yadav's demonstration of a pseudo-Osama consolidated the backlash that gave the laurel to Mr Nitish Kumar. No one credits either Mr Paswan or Mr Yadav with any great vision. But certainly the Congress has within its ranks the cream of India's political talent. What then is the reason for the grand old party to ignoring the obvious lessons of repeated electoral behaviour. Is it a mindset? Remember, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had called Jawaharlal Nehru the only nationalist Muslim he had come across. Or, is it a Hindu-phobia that makes the Muslim appeasement an equivalent of secularism. Incidentally,<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'> Nehru openly talked of minority communalism as harmless; whereas majoritarianism, he felt, was gravely dangerous.</span>
The Muslim voter, as a genre, was shaken by the breaking up of Pakistan in 1971 by, of all people, Nehru's daughter. He, however, did not decide to boycott the Congress as a result. If he did help to defeat Mrs Indira Gandhi in 1977, it was because of Sanjay Gandhi's nasbandi (and not due to the birth of Bangladesh). He rejected the Congress after the Ayodhya agitation and Rajiv Gandhi's dithering response to it.
What little faith was left in the party was wiped out when the needle of suspicion for the demolition of the Babri edifice pointed to then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. <b>The Congress has not had a Chief Minister in Lucknow since Mr ND Tiwari in 1988. Bihar has not had one since Mr Jagannath Mishra in 1989. West Bengal, with a quarter of Muslim voters, has not had a Congress Chief Minister for the past 28 years. UP, Bihar and West Bengal make up the heartland of India's Muslims. Why then does the party chase and appease Muslims - whether in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh or elsewhere?</b>
Uncannily, the Congress had a socialist mindset sowed by Nehru at the Avadi session in 1955. As early as 1985, Rajiv Gandhi had doubts about the efficacy of Leftism; yet, no official policy change took place. It was only after India had been compelled to deposit gold in London as girvi that there was little choice before Narasimha Rao but to invite Mr Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister and resort to liberalisation. <b>Will the Congress wait for a debacle in order to change its mindset over Muslim appeasement?</b>
The grand old party can console itself in the knowledge that a political veteran like Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee is also siding with them in the ways of Muslim appeasement. He not only wore green pugrees in the campaign for the last general election, but also spoke with sincerity when he promise that, if returned to power, <b>he would employ two lakh Urdu teachers. But the Congress should remember that Mr Vajpayee lost the 2004 Lok Sabha election due to that very reason. He paid the price for his borrowing from Nehruvianism.</b>
The flip side of the consolation for the Congress are the series of terrorist attacks - whether on Akshardham in Gandhinagar, or the Parliament house, not to speak of 29/10 in Delhi. The world environment also appears to have bypassed Congressmen.
<b>Do they not realise that the most widespread war in human history is being fought between Islamic terrorists and. the rest of civilisations</b> - be it Chinese in Xinjiang, or Buddhists in Thailand, or Jews in Palestine and now Christians in several European countries, not to speak of 9/11 in the US and 7/7 in London. Five out of the world's six continents, including Australia, are fighting in this widespread war. <b>Is any more data required for the pundits of 24, Akbar Road to do an about turn and play to the Hindu gallery?</b>
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T V R Shenoy on Rediff
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Uttar Pradesh is the country's largest state by far; the Congress is irrelevant there. Maharashtra is India's second-largest state; the Congress chief minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, lives at Sharad Pawar's mercy. West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh each send 42 MPs to the Lok Sabha; the Congress has been out of power in the first since 1977, and has just returned to power in the second after a decade in the wilderness. Tamil Nadu, with its 39 Lok Sabha seats, has not had a Congress chief minister since 1967. The BJP holds Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and a Biju Janata Dal-BJP coalition is into its second term in Orissa. Karnataka has a Congress chief minister, but his plight is even worse than his Maharashtra colleague, thanks to H D Deve Gowda.
And, the Congress is all set to lose Kerala in 2006.
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Bihar redeems its pledge
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Balbir K Punj
The recent Assembly elections in Bihar will be treated as a milestone in the history of Indian democracy. Though all elections are important in one way or the other, Bihar elections were a cut above the rest. First, they ended the 15-year misrule of 'family farm' Government that had reduced the status of this historic State to a farce.
Both the masses and the media have reacted positively and enthusiastically to this change which was long overdue. It was celebrated not only in Bihar and among non-resident Biharis of Delhi and Mumbai, but expatriate Biharis in New York and Maryland as well. Second, it was a thumbs-down for the invidious casteist politics practiced in Bihar.
In these elections the electorate as a whole voted more as a Bihari than a Kurmi, Yadav, Brahmin, Bhumihar or Rajput. It was a vote against stagnation and degeneration and in favour of change and progress. Third, it shattered the myth that Muslims will not vote in favour of an alliance that constitutes the BJP. This was a bogus proposition popularised by deposed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu after TDP bowed out of power last year.
Neither the attraction of Osama bin Laden look-alike Mohammed Noor who escorted Lalu Prasad Yadav, nor the lollipop of 'Muslim Chief Minister' offered by Ram Vilas Paswan cut much ice with Muslims of Bihar.
Four, the Election Commission of India, showed it is capable of conducting fair and violence-free elections. Its Legal advisor KJ Rao visited 200 of the 243 Assembly constituencies. He interacted with common people; and developed strategies from inputs that he received. He caught up with dishonest and incompetent officers through his unscheduled visits.
He discovered there were 70,000 unexecuted warrants, often poll related, pending for years against gangsters all over Bihar. He got hundreds of those executed as a result of which a number of criminals were sent behind bars. While there were 80 poll related fatalities during the inconclusive February polls, this time there were only two.
The new Chief Minister of Bihar, Mr Nitish Kumar, has spelt out three priorities of his Government. These are governance, governance and only governance. Governance ensures development, enforcement of law and order, investment and social amity. As Mr Nitish Kumar said, there was no law and order in Bihar for the last 15 years because no one was allowed to work in accordance with the law. This was almost like being a witness to the withering away of the State in the literal sense of the term.
It is not as if Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav was unaware of this fact. Look at the sting in his tail. He said he would congratulate 'his younger brother' Nitish Kumar on his victory but not the BJP. Building upon Mr Kumar's promise to put the State on the right track within three months, he said that hopefully migration of labour and students from Bihar would stop within that period.
He did not forget to add that people would be disillusioned within three months. It is up to Mr Nitish Kumar to prove that Bihar can be governed, but how dare Mr Yadav dictate terms even in defeat? However, truth to tell, Mr Kumar does not have any magic wand to undo the ill-effects of 15 years of misrule under his and his wife Rabri Devi's regime.
The RJD, instead of conceding defeat, has the temerity to say that electorate of Bihar became victim to false propaganda of JD(U)-BJP. The false propaganda referred to here is the question of non-development and non-performance of Bihar. The economic misery of the State's populace is all too obvious. Its impact is felt not only by Biharis who migrate out of the State but also cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Kanpur who bear the burnt of the expatriate population.
The Bihar High Court in 1998 had observed that jungle raj prevailed in the State. Bihar finishes at the bottom of almost all indices of the Planning Commission or UNDP reports. The State had a wholesome educational system since British times but it has collapsed under Lalu raj. The health sector, roads, industry, government offices are all in deplorable state.
One remembers former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, who, after being routed in legislative Assembly elections nearly two years ago, had said that the Congress was defeated by 'emotional issues' like bijli-sadak-pani. One wonders how electricity-road-water are emotional and not practical issues. No wonder Mr Digvijay Singh considers Mr Yadav as his 'political guru'.
Another myth busted was the 'secular' or 'Muslim-Yadav' vote-bank. It is true that Muslims of Bihar had thrown their lot with Mr Yadav in the elections that followed the Bhagalpur riots in 1989 when the Congress was in power. But in the last 15 years Muslims have received little else than rhetoric from Mr Yadav. In fact, this is true for all castes or communities in Bihar.
Mr Yadav had been befooling not only the Muslims but his allies and other 'secularists' with his war cry of 'secularism'.
It was to cover up his ineptitude or unwillingness for governance. He has reduced fighting against 'communal forces' to a farce. But one can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time.
Shortly before the Bihar Assembly elections in February 2005 the Bihar State Minority Commission came up with some startling discoveries on the condition of Muslims in Bihar. Its most important findings were: Muslims in the State have sunk to the bottom from a relatively mid-income position. 49.5 per cent of Bihar's Muslims in villages and 44.8 per cent in towns live below the poverty line.
The corresponding figures for general population are 44.3 per cent and 32.9 per cent. Thus poverty level of Bihar's Muslims remains high. In towns 78.5 Muslim births take place at home (not hospital) compared to 58.9 per cent for general population.Only 35.9 per cent of the rural Muslim households in Bihar possess any cultivable land.
Barely 8.2 per cent of the Muslim households in rural Bihar have over two acres of land. Land-alienation is increasing with Muslim households selling more land in last one decade than they bought. Muslims constitute about 16.5 per cent of Bihar population, but only 1.5 per cent of the rural households and 1.8 per cent of these in the urban areas have a member participating in panchayat or municipality administration.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This, in short, describes the power aristocracy built around Mr Yadav. His utter disdain for merit and development was reflected in his words 'Yeh IT- baiti kya hai?' (What is this information technology?) and making the bureaucracy servile.Since May 1994, when Mr Nitish Kumar parted ways with Mr Yadav's and declared frontal war against his regime, he was longing to overturn it.
Though he had to expand the size of his cabinet to 25 ministers from contemplated 12, he immediately dropped Jitan Ram Majhi from his Ministry after learning that he faced charges of forgery in the court of law.
This shows his concern for maintaining transparency.
It will amount to speculation to say that the outcome of Bihar elections will affect the stability of UPA Government at the Centre. Its constituents might just draw closer out of fear after losing Bihar. But the Congress now has an excuse to cease playing second the fiddle to the RJD - a role it immensely detested but had no options than to play. This will only help the BJP-JD(U) combine.
(The writer, a Rajya Sabha MP and Member of BJP's think-tank, can be contacted at bpunj@email.com )<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>NDA to remove chapter on Laloo</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Patna, December 4: Aiming to âdepolluteâ academics, the NDA government of Nitish Kumar in Bihar has decided to remove a chapter on RJD president Laloo Prasad from class VIII syllabus and also remodel the âcharwahaâ and âpahelwanâ schools, pet projects of the RJD supremo.
âLalooâs life cannot be a model for school students, including the chapter on Lalooâs life in the class VIII curriculum in government schools along with those of other legends cannot be justified
.........
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<span style='color:blue'>
In these elections the electorate as a whole voted more as a Bihari than a Kurmi, Yadav, Brahmin, Bhumihar or Rajput. It was a vote against stagnation and degeneration and in favour of change and progress. Third, it shattered the myth that Muslims will not vote in favour of an alliance that constitutes the BJP.</span>
I<b>mpossible to seek justice in Bihar courts: Lalu</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Railway Minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday complained before the Supreme Court that he would not get justice in the fodder scam cases being tried in Bihar and Jharkhand.
"It has now become impossible to seek justice in Bihar and Jharkhand courts," senior advocate Ram Jethmalani submitted before a bench headed by Justice K G Balkrishnan
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Why he can't get justice when judge and court are same? He was in power for 15 years so he should blame himself for this mess.
your inbox !
Lalu dropped because of anti-Hindu stand: Togadia
December 11, 2005 01:47 IST
Launching a scathing attack on Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad, International General Secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad Praveen Togadia today claimed Lalu Prasad was dumped by the people because of his "anti-Hindu" stance.
Addressing VHP workers in Patna, Togadia said, "Everybody knows what had happened in Godhra and the role of Lalu Prasad as Railway Minister to shield those involved in the attack on Hindus travelling by the Sabarmati Express."
<span style='color:red'>
"Lalu was shown the door to cool his heels as he harboured anti-Hindu stand since the beginning and therefore, he has committed a crime of Hindu deshdroh (treason)," he said apparently referring to the Assembly election results.</span>
Slamming Ramvilas Paswan for his repeated advocacy for making a Muslim chief minister, VHP leader dared Paswan to make his lone Muslim legislator leader of Lok Janshakti Party legislature party now after his failure to fulfil his promise (to make a Muslim CM). "Paswan's extreme love for Muslims has proved costly for the LJP which suffered serious electoral reverses," he said.
Turning to infiltration of Bangladeshi nationals in Bihar, Togadia said "I don't want to offend chief minister Nitish Kumar at this stage asking him to drive out the Bangladeshi infiltrators but there is the need to put pressure on the government to check infiltration".
Togadia also urged the Nitish Kumar-led government to take immediate steps to check ISI activities and make concerted efforts to tone up the administration to tackle the law and order problem. He said VHP would extend full cooperation to the new regime for changing the face of Bihar.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>What will happen to Lalooâs Animal Farm ?</b>Â
Link
From Abhay Kumar
DH News Service Patna:
Gone are the days when Laloo used to boast of jab tak rahega samose mein aaloo, tab tak rahega Bihar mein Laloo.
<b>Having lost ground (read State) and the bungalow to his arch rival Nitish Kumar, the RJD President Laloo Prasad Yadav now faces an arduous task of relocating his cattle farm consisting of 200-odd cows, buffaloes and horses. </b>
<b>The new bungalow at 10, Circular Road, allotted to his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi is quite diminutive compared to the sprawling 1, Aney Marg. The adjacent bungalow of 5, Deshratna Marg, which was allotted to Laloo, together made a huge campus, spacious enough for Laloo and his âAnimal Farmâ to coexist, with potatoes being cultivated in the four-acre land. </b>
In fact his âranchâ remained the centre of attraction for all the celebrities, including those from the Bollywood, who visited the erstwhile ruling couple.
But now, with 5, Deshratna Marg allotted to HRD Minister Brishen Patel and 1, Aney Marg officially designated for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Laloo faces the daunting task of shifting his livestock. âWe are least bothered about where his cows/buffaloes will go,â was the terse reply of one of the supervisors taking care of the upgradation work being carried out at 10, Circular Road.
This is the same bungalow, where Rabriâs brother Sadhu Yadav used to stay and had rechristened it as 10, Janpath (on the pattern of Sonia Gandhiâs house in New Delhi) before being ousted on the Patna High Court directive. âWhen he is no more an MLC, and has been elected as an MP, in what capacity is he retaining the house,â the court had observed, taking umbrage at Sadhuâs forcible occupation of the bungalow, which was a stoneâs throw from the Chief Ministerâs residence.
âAs a railway minister or a former chief minister, I never occupied any bungalow,â Mr Nitish Kumar told Deccan Herald, reacting to Lalooâs railway office being run at 5, Deshratna Marg, where Lalooâs confidant Bhola Yadav officiates as the OSD in the Ministry of Railways.
Having been outwitted in the poll battle, Laloo eventually petitioned the Union Home Ministry for enhanced security to him in view of the threat perception from âcommunal forces.â The MHA immediately upgraded his Z-category to Z-plus, with CRPF cover in Delhi and Patna.
However, his one wish remained unfulfilled: The absence of a swimming pool and an âanimal farmâ at 10, Circular Road, on the pattern of 1, Aney Marg. After all, it was Rabri Devi, who in her affidavit filed before the Income Tax Department in Disproportionate Assets (DA) case, had cited âdairyâ as her major source of income.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-Mudy+Nov 25 2005, 09:52 PM-->QUOTE(Mudy @ Nov 25 2005, 09:52 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->MANINI CHATTERJEE known for anti-hindu articles and she/he is linked with World leftist movement. Very close with Christian World Evangelical groups.<!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Express' Chief Congie Hack, Neerja Chowdhury, has distanced herself today from the mess in Jharhand. "Some sense seems to have prevailed in Express editorial office", a reader remarked, "they kept out Chief Marxist Hack Manini Chatterjee for the day."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
[right][snapback]41989[/snapback][/right]
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You are right. She is as worse as Theesta Seetalvad. We need to keep a watch on her language in the coming months as next few months are going to be very crucial for these pinkos.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>We will turn Bihar into Gujarat: Advani </b>
Pioneer News Service / New Delhi
Envisioning Bihar to come at par with the "best Governed State in the country," Gujrat, BJP President, LK Advani on Saturday sought the industry's support in achieving this goal.
Speaking at the 78th Annual General Meeting of The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), he asked the business leaders present there to invest their resources in the backward State.
Addressing the gathering, he said, "Invest your money. Invest your managerial resources. Invest your idea. Bihar needs them all."
<b>"One of the least developed and worst Governed States in India has just received democratic deliverance...The nightmare of jungle raj that Bihar had to endure for 15 long years has is now over," he said. Lashing out at the Government for not taking into consideration the woes of "aam aadmi" who put the UPA to power, Mr Advani said the State of the Government's reform policy, the picture of Indian agriculture, small-scale industry and the informal sector did not "fill him with a lot of cheer."</b>
Further, he assured that with NDA in power in Bihar, the State will pick on the threads and move on robustly to the path of development. "I assure you that we will bring Bihar is back into the mainstream of development. We will restart the rusted engine of economic growth. We will restore law and order by dealing firmly with the nexus of corrupt and the criminals," he said.
<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>About the other BJP-ruled states, Advani said Gujarat has emerged as arguably the best governed state in the country weathering all the malicious propaganda by political adversaries.</span>
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HT headline, not mine: Rabri's toilet trouble
Someone remind - who was ruling Bihar for last decade and could have but didn't fix/built the toilet?
Also, I read in a print media that she/Laloo are refusing to vacate the CM residence since it was "karmhash" month! What's that all about?
<b>Rabri may be served final notice to vacate Anne Marg home</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Faced with reluctance of Rabri Devi to vacate the 1 Anne Marg bungalow immediately, the Bihar Building Construction Department (BCD) is considering to serve a third and final eviction notice to her to make way for the new chief minister.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Her hundreds of cows and other pets need shelter and swimming pool for kids. <!--emo&  --><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1607130,0008.htm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Holding that the central government had been "misled" on the basis of the Governor's report, Singhvi said: "Anybody who tries to exploit this politically is going contrary to the letter and spirit of the judgement."
In a 3:2 verdict, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday termed as unconstitutional, illegal and mala fide Buta Singh's two reports to the central government on April 27, 2005, and May 21, 2005, recommending dissolution of the Bihar Assembly.
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http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1606912,0008.htm
Bihar Governor Buta Singh not to step down
I don't understand why 7-8 MP were kicked out from parliament and those who broke law and constitution have audacity to stay in Government.
In the Buta Singh judgement, there are hints about how SC is going to handle the expulsion of MPs issue. SC said that Governor has immunity in his actions, i.e. he can't be sent to jail, but SC can still rule on validity of his actions.
The same argument can be applied to Speakers' role and expulsion of MPs. SC has taken up that issue to determine whether Lok-Sabha has any rights to summarily expel MPs or not. This is a serious issue as it goes to the heart of the representative democracy. Should people have right to kick out the MPs in elections or a brute majority in parliament in concert with a pliant speaker can willy nilly expel opposition MPs at its whim. The rights of the Lok-Sabha and the Speaker can't be absolute here. They also have to be constitutionaly valid. And that judgement can ONLY be made by the judiciary.
so, however Comrade Somnath frets, Judiciary has a say in the expulsion issue. Only it can decide whether expulsion was constitutional or not.
My gut feeling is that Somnath is up for an earful from the judiciary.
I glanced through the constitution to see if what Commie Somanath Chatterji said that they have power to expel the MPs and judiciary has no role is true or not. I couldn't find any reference to that effect. Yes, Parliament is supreme but in light of lack of law or procedures, they would have to first show the law to take actions and pass a law and take action. I think the expulsion of MPs is demeaning to the Indian democracy, just like imposing president rules over democratically elected state governments, that too doing so arbitarily and politically like Buta did.
Perhaps, I'd appreciate if any one can point to sections in constitution that support what Somnath said.
Thanks
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->PM culpable on all counts, charges BJP
The Pioneer
January 25, 2006
Leader of Opposition LK Advani on Tuesday demanded the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sacking of Bihar Governor Buta Singh in the wake of the Supreme Court's detailed judgement on the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly.Â
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance has also decided to meet President APJ Kalam and has sought an appointment in this regard.
"We demand immediate recall of the Governor and action against the Prime Minister for misleading him (President) to commit an unconstitutional action," Mr Advani said.
In his impromptu Press conference at his residence, Mr Advani pointed out that
while the Governor had misled the Central Government, Manmohan Singh's Council of Ministers was found to be guilty of "non-application of mind" for accepting the Governor's report as "gospel truth", without any verification.
"In a way, the court seemed harsh on the Governor but the culpability of the Prime Minister is evidently greater as it was he who convened the midnight meeting and it was he who was instrumental in misleading the President," Mr Advani argued.
BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley made it clear in Jaipur that the party intended to put the Prime Minister on the mat on this issue. "The Governor only sends the report and recommendations, it is the Central Government which takes its own decision based on it," he contended, adding, "It is the political, constitutional and moral responsibility not only of the Governor but also of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh."
Asked about the party's view on the President's hurried acceptance of the Central Government's recommendations, he said the apex court had clearly noted that the President could not be blamed for imposing Article 356 as he was bound by the recommendation of the Council of Ministers.
Expectedly, the NDA leaders were merciless in their attack on Buta Singh, who showed no inclination of stepping down voluntarily, but asserted that he would take the salute in Patna on Republic Day.
While Mr Fernandes called him "Jhutha Singh", Mr Advani dubbed his bravado as "gross contempt of court". "For an indicted person to talk in this arrogant manner is adding insult to injury. From a democratic viewpoint, this will have far reaching consequences," he said.But it was the UPA Government at the Centre and the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi that were his principal targets.
Despite its understandable politeness in respect of the Council of Ministers, the apex court had not absolved it of blame, Mr Advani maintained. "It has found the Council of Ministers guilty of non-application of mind. For Council of Ministers to accept the Governor's report without verification as gospel truth is a very strong comment," he added.
The BJP leader said nobody who has read the judgement would agree with the Congress party's contention that the verdict does not hold the Government guilty.
According to him, the verdict clearly showed that the Governor's report was politically motivated to prevent Nitish Kumar from forming the Government.
"When the Prime Minister convened a cabinet meeting at the dead of the night, he was subserving the same motive which had prompted the Governor - preventing duly elected representatives of people from forming a legitimate Government," Mr Advani said.
He said, though going by language and phrases, the court's accusation may seem harsher against the Governor, "the culpability of the Prime Minister is evidently greater because it was he who was instrumental in misleading the President."
Asked about the court's suggestion for a National Policy outlining common norms for appointment of Governors, he said the inter-state council had not accepted it but the NDA Government used to not only consult but also appoint Governors with the consent of the States. He said BJP had an open mind if the issue was reconsidered by the Inter-State Council.
Who Said What
Whatever the SC says the country has to accept it...The Supreme Court has got authority. We have to respect it... I do not want to comment (Buta's resignation)- Manmohan Singh
The culpability of the PM is evidently greater because he convened the meeting of the Council of Ministers at the dead of the night and was instrumental in misleading the President - LK Advani
I don't see any way other than Governor Buta Singh to step down - Prakash Karat After the SC judgement it is not possible for him (Buta) to remain there. Report of the Governor was sent not in a very objective and neutral manner -AB Bardhan
It is for Singh to decide on continuing in office. It is a matter of propriety for the individual whether to continue in office or not - Fali S Nariman
How dare they (government) make this hindsight of a comment that they were misled. Are they children playing games? If they are, they have no right to be there - George Fernandes
Centre owes it to the court and Constitution to remove him. I think Buta Singh cannot and should not remain in the office for a minute after this - Soli Sorabjee
We should leave it to the conscience of the Governor. How can I say whether he
should remain or go -Lalu Prasad
I personally never favoured the dissolution, but given the circumstances prevailing at that time there was no other option (other than dissolution) left - Ram Vilas Paswan <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Who Said What
Whatever the SC says the country has to accept it...The Supreme Court has got authority. We have to respect it... I do not want to comment (Buta's resignation)- Manmohan Singh
The culpability of the PM is evidently greater because he convened the meeting of the Council of Ministers at the dead of the night and was instrumental in misleading the President - LK Advani
I don't see any way other than Governor Buta Singh to step down - Prakash Karat
After the SC judgement it is not possible for him (Buta) to remain there. Report of the Governor was sent not in a very objective and neutral manner -AB Bardhan
It is for Singh to decide on continuing in office. It is a matter of propriety for the individual whether to continue in office or not - Fali S Nariman
How dare they (government) make this hindsight of a comment that they were misled. Are they children playing games? If they are, they have no right to be there - George Fernandes
Centre owes it to the court and Constitution to remove him. I think Buta Singh cannot and should not remain in the office for a minute after this - Soli Sorabjee
We should leave it to the conscience of the Governor. How can I say whether he should remain or go -Lalu Prasad
I personally never favoured the dissolution, but given the circumstances prevailing at that time there was no other option (other than dissolution) left - Ram Vilas Paswan
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->I personally never favoured the dissolution, but given the circumstances prevailing at that time there was no other option (other than dissolution) left - Ram Vilas Paswan <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah right!!! No other option left? Conveniently forgets it was when his MLAs abandonded him he was running from pillar to post to get the dissolution. Paswan should be the last guy to comment on this episode. I'm glad the people of Bihar saw through his game.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>After taking R-Day salute, Buta resigns</b>
Agencies/ Patna
Buta Singh on Thursday resigned as Bihar Governor. "I have faxed my resignation letter to President," Singh told reporters in Patna. 71-year-old Singh faxed his resignation within hours of taking the salute at the Republic Day parade.
His exit had appeared imminent after the strong indictement by the Supreme Court in the case relating to dissolution of the Bihar Assembly last year saying his report to the Centre was "misleading" and was done to prevent the JD(U) from forming a government in May. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>In House, Rabri stoops to a new low</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The Bihar Assembly on Tuesday witnessed turmoil after Leader of Opposition Rabri Devi showed her slippers to a BJP member Ramadhar Singh for criticizing the erstwhile RJD regime. Rabri also hurled invectives against another member, Renu Devi (JD-U).<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> <!--emo&:blow--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='blow.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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