Centre under attack for pleading with Thackeray

NEW DELHI, JAN 21: The Vajpayee government today came under sharp attack from all quarters for air-dashing Home Minister L K Advani to Mu...

NEW DELHI, JAN 21: The Vajpayee government today came under sharp attack from all quarters for air-dashing Home Minister L K Advani to Mumbai to quot;begquot; and quot;pleadquot; with Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray to suspend his threat against Pakistan cricket team8217;s tour to India.

After several days of apprehension, Thackeray today decided to suspend his threat to disrupt the Indo-Pak match for a year after a meeting with Advani. His decision was immediately welcomed by the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP.

Party spokesman Venkaiah Naidu said, quot;I feel gratified that the Sena chief ultimately accepted Advani8217;s advice.quot; The BJP also promised that action would be taken against those responsible for digging up the Ferozeshah Kotla cricket ground pitch. Naidu said, quot;Action will be taken against those responsible for what happened in Delhi. The law will take its own course.quot;

He added, quot;Our stand has been clear from day one that the Test matches will be played. Different parties can have different point of views, there isnothing wrong in it. The only difference is how do you go about expressing it. The government has also assured safe conduct of the matches.quot;

While the BJP and the sports fraternity heaved a sigh of relief, criticism stormed in from all quarters. Singh criticised Advani for quot;beggingquot; for peace from Thackeray and said quot;this shows where the authority restsquot; and added, quot;It is a signal to the whole country that only Thackeray can give peace.quot;

Echoing Singh8217;s sentiment, the Congress felt that Advani8217;s action was nothing but quot;going down on his knees and prostrating before Bal Thackeray.quot; Speaking to reporters, Congress spokesman Ajit Jogi said, this was quot;yet another proof of weakness and non-governance of the Vajpayee government.quot;

Reacting to the Sena incident, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh said, quot;It is a sad state of affairs that the country8217;s Home Minister has to go to Mumbai and plead before a non-entity and an unconstitutional authority who had instigated the recent incidents to stopIndo-Pak cricket series.quot;

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Communist Party of India Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury said the unscheduled meeting between Advani and Thackeray was quot;merely to keep the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance goingquot;. quot;It is shameful that Advani was actually air-dashed to Mumbai to meet Thackeray with a begging bowl to buy peace,quot; Yechury said. The CPM also cautioned the Centre against any quot;laxityquot; in security during the Indo-Pak cricket match series, saying that Sena was still quot;capable of doing anythingquot;.

CPI national secretary D Raja too ridiculed Advani saying, quot;It is highly deplorable that Advani went to plead with Thackeray instead of taking stern action against the miscreants.quot;

Some political parties, like the Samajwadi Party, demanded that the Maharashtra government should be dismissed for its alleged failure to check quot;Shiv Sena activistsquot;. The Samajwadi Party also demanded Advani8217;s resignation for the Centre8217;s inability to stop the vandalism.

Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav saw these vandalism acts as partof a quot;hidden Hindutva agenda to terrorise minoritiesquot; and alleged that the BJP was hand-in-glove with the Sena on the issue.

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The Rashtriya Janata Dal RJD demanded banning of Shiv Sena and immediate arrest of Thackeray. RJD8217;s national unit general secretary, Uday Narain Chaudhury said in a press statement, quot;Shiv Sena which has launched an attack on Constitutional tradition by indulging in vandalism8230; the party is communal and should be banned.quot; Chaudhury also said that the coalition partners should pressurise the Centre to order Thackeray8217;s arrest for allegedly indulging in anti-national activities.

West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu had a solution to offer to end anarchy in the country. He said had his party been at the helm of affairs at the Centre, there would be no quot;reign of anarchy as is now evident under the BJP-led coalition rulequot;. quot;Such anarchy will continue to prevail so long the BJP-led coalition rules the nation,quot; Basu said reacting to Centre8217;s inability to control Sena8217;s vandalism. Hissolution to end the prevailing anarchy was, quot;Install us in Delhi and we will set everything right.quot; But, he remained evasive as to how that was possible.

Welcoming the Sena8217;s decision, International Cricket Council President Jagmohan Dalmiya said, quot;Sports should be used for peace and friendship. The image of the country had been tarnished by recent events. I am happy the agitation has been called off.quot;

Cricket board president Raj Singh Dubgarpur said, quot;In the end, cricket is the winnerquot;. Or is it?

Security to stay

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CHENNAI: There will be no relaxation of the unprecedented security arrangements made for the first cricket Test between India and Pakistan here though the Shiv Sena has suspended its agitation against the tour, secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association Ashok Khumbat announced here on Thursday. quot;We will not relax the security arrangements already planned for the Test,quot; he told reporters here reacting to the Sena8217;s decision announced earlier in the day at Mumbai.

Welcoming Senachief Bal Thackeray8217;s decision to suspend the threat to disrupt the matches Khumbat said, quot;We do not want to take any chance whatsoever and I appeal to Thackeray to tell his party cadres to witness the match peacefully.quot; Kumbhat expressed hope that there would be a sell out crowd for the match as the Sena8217;s decision quot;has reduced apprehensionsquot;. The teams were well-balanced and they would provide good entertainment for the paying public, he added.