NEW DELHI, July 30: Union Home Minister Indrajit Gupta today rejected demands for the imposition of President's rule in Maharashtra, for the time being, but warned the State Government that a repetition of the recent violence would not be tolerated in the future.Wrapping up a two-day debate, in the Rajya Sabha, on the Mumbai desecration issue, Gupta said that the guilty should be severely punished on all three counts – the statue incident, police firing which killed 10 Dalits and the mob attack on Congress leader Chhagan Bhujbal's residence. In the same breath, he wondered whether those responsible for the attack on Bhujbal would actually be prosecuted and punished.Surprisingly, the House sat quietly through the Home Minister's speech, which was sprinkled liberally with criticism of the Maharashtra Government's anti-secular policies and unsympathetic attitude towards minorities and Dalits.Only when Gupta ruled out the possibility of imposing Art 356 in Maharashtra, did the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena members thump their desks in glee.Gupta was quick to retort that this was not his final word on the issue. ``The time (for President's Rule) may come tomorrow,'' he said amidst laughter from the rest of the House.He told the House that Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray had assured him and the Maharashtra Governor that the incident at Bhujbal's residence would not be repeated.He described the attack as a ``heinous crime'' and said the Congress leader's house was totally wrecked by the mob. ``The claim that the attack was a spontaneous one is difficult to swallow,'' he remarked, adding that State Governor P C Alexander, had told him that had Bhujbal been at home when the rioters attacked, they would have lynched him.Gupta also took a dig at the BJP by asking its members how long it would tolerate the embarrassment caused to the party by its Shiv Sena allies.The Lok Sabha, however, witnessed heated exchanges between the saffron alliance members and the Congress, Janata Dal, Communist Party of India and CPI-Marxist, during discussion on the motion on atrocities against Dalits in Maharashtra.While Congress and CPM MPs accused the BJP-Shiv Sena combine of perpetrating violence on the Dalit population, the latter put the entire blame on the Congress. Intervening in the debate Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Kanshi Ram said Dalits in Maharashtra were themselves to be blamed for their plight.He accused them of failing to live up to the emancipation movement launched by Phule and Ambedkar. He said deserting the movement was more painful than mere desecration of a statue. Kanshi Ram said it was a shame that even 50 years after Independence India has not been able to change the social and economic status of the Dalits. Hannan Mullah of the CPI-M said that July 11 will remain a black day in the history of our country when Dalits in Maharashtra were subjected to atrocities.
