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Modi is another Godse: Laloo

NEW DELHI NOV. 27. Taking umbrage at the caretaker Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, being described as "chhote Sardar", the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader, Laloo Prasad Yadav, said today that it would be more apt to call him a "second Nathuram Godse" as he had "assassinated" the ideals of secularism and non-violence practised by Gandhiji.

Participating in a short duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the situation arising out of the recent developments in Gujarat, Mr. Yadav also derided the BJP as a "front" for the Sangh Parivar. "The BJP is not a political party. It is only a mask worn by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Sangh Parivar. They worked hard to install the BJP in power and it is now trying to implement the RSS ideology," he said.

Regretting that the charges against the BJP leaders, L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, in the Ayodhya demolition case had been quashed on technical grounds, he said this had given a boost to communal forces. Leaders such as Mr. Modi and Praveen Togadia were now implementing the Sangh Parivar agenda unbridled by any restraint, he added.

Accusing the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre of turning a blind eye to the happenings in Gujarat, Mr. Yadav said it reminded him of an old rustic saying "ab saiyan bhaye kotwal, to dar kahe ka'' (now that my spouse is a police officer, why should I be scared of anyone).

Cautioning the BJP leadership against the pitfalls of communal politics, he said no place of worship was safe. If a mosque or a church were attacked in one place, a temple would be destroyed in another.

The Treasury Benches should realise that they were ultimately responsible for the attacks on the Akshardham and Raghunath temples because they had not cared to check the growth of communal forces. "When SIMI was banned, we asked the Government, what about the VHP. But no action was taken against that group," he added.

The RJD would not contest any seats in the Gujarat elections, but would use all its might to sensure the uprooting of communal forces, he said. — UNI

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