Police draw curtains on arrest drama

The party must highlight the stupid blunder of the UPA govt under whose initiative the BJP has been targeted by a Constitutional authority L K Advani Leader of the Opposition

The police on Monday refused to detain Rajnath Singh and Lalji Tandon, leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, who along with L.K. Advani, Venkaiah Naidu and other senior party leaders reached Hazratganj police station here to surrender in the CD case. Taking serious note of the inflammatory content of the CD allegedly released by the BJP, the Election Commission had filed an FIR against the two leaders.

The drama continued for over 40 minutes as Rajnath and the other leaders who reached the police station in a huge procession argued that since the FIR had been lodged against them under non bailable Sections 153 A and 153 B of the IPC, the police must arrest them. But, Uttar Pradesh DGP, G L Sharma said the inquiry was at a primary stage and there was no any plan to arrest anyone.

Later, addressing a rally, Advani, said that the BJP will capitalise on what he dubbed “the stupidity of those who filed charges against Rajnath Singh”.

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He added that he knew that the police would not comply with “those who have been idiotically trying to implicate the party president in a case he is not even aware of”.

Advani said since the election process was on in the state, his party would highlight the “stupid blunder of the Congress-led UPA government under whose initiative the BJP has been targeted by a Constitutional authority.”

Obliquely accusing Congress President Sonia Gandhi of manipulating matters from afar with the “sole intention of finishing the BJP, the fastest growing political party”, Advani said she was trying to play Indira Gandhi. “The FIR and the demand to derecognise the BJP reminds me of 1975 when the then Union government was preparing ground to impose Emergency in the country. Since the BJP is bent on exposing the UPA government, the Congress has decided to fight with with unconstitutional means,” he said.

Advani said he strongly believed that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s comment that the Babri Masjid would have been saved if any Gandhi had been in power was the “reflection of a particular mindset. In fact, the Congress leader was trying to say that it is only the members of his family who were capable of ruling the nation.”

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“I must thank Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for openly praising the late PM (PV Narsimha Rao) whom Rahul Gandhi had indirectly criticised,” he added.

Rajnath in his public address blamed the EC for acting under the influence of the Congress and said, “Despite knowing that we were not involved in the CD case, the EC has done whatever it could against us. But we will not allow it to victimise us.”

Security blanket in place for Phase II

The Centre on Monday took a swipe at Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav for slamming the tight security arrangements for Assembly polls, saying such strong reactions were expected from those who were affected by the prevention of rigging. Meanwhile, the EC will repeat its show of strength in western UP on April 13.