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Advani favours all-party meet

Manas Dasgupta

To decide on castes' inclusion

AHMEDABAD: Veteran BJP leader and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani on Sunday demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh convene an all-party meeting at the earliest to decide on the status of Gujjars, an issue that triggered violence in Rajasthan.

In a brief chat with journalists here, Mr. Advani, who was on a day's visit to Gujarat, said it was time all parties sat together and decided once and for all which castes and communities should be included in the lists of scheduled castes, schedules tribes and other backward classes.

On the charge that the BJP had given an election promise to the Gujjars in Rajasthan that they would be included in the scheduled tribes list, Mr. Advani said that if each party raked up such issues every now and then, there would be no end to violence in the country.

He said all parties should come to a unanimous decision about the lists of castes and communities to be included in the reservation categories after which after which no party should make it a political issue.

Mr. Advani said he had asked the Prime Minister to convene an all-party meeting at the earliest. He said was deeply pained at the current spate of violence in Rajasthan and its repercussions in some other States, but claimed that Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had assured him that the crisis would be resolved amicably very shortly.

Replying to a question, Mr. Advani said that whatever might be the decision of the parliamentary committee formed for the purpose, he personally believed that Babu Katara, his party's Member of Parliament from Dahod, did not deserve to continue as an MP. Mr. Katara was arrested in March while trying to smuggle out a woman and her son to Canada on the passports of his wife and son. Pointing out that the BJP had already suspended Mr. Katara from the party, Mr. Advani said his actions were unbecoming of a respectable Member of Parliament.

Later, speaking at an official function organised by the State Government for the launching of a Rs. 13,000 crore scheme for all-round development of the urban poor, Mr. Advani questioned the Dr. Singh's views that the Muslims should have the "first right to the country's resources."

Mr. Advani said the Constitution did not allow any special favours to anyone on the basis of religion and all the poor in the country belonging to any caste or communities should have equal right to the country's resources.

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