Fruitless exercise 8212; Cong

NEW DELHI, MARCH 8: The Congress today said the Government had indulged in the fruitless exercise'' of imposing President's Rule in Bih...

NEW DELHI, MARCH 8: The Congress today said the Government had indulged in the 8220;fruitless exercise8221; of imposing President8217;s Rule in Bihar and then revoking it, after its apparent failure to rustle up enough numbers in the Rajya Sabha to ratify it.

Party spokesperson Ajit Jogi said the whole thing was a waste of time for both Houses of Parliament and 8220;exposed the fascist face of the BJP8221;. The Congress had opposed President8217;s Rule in Bihar, making it inevitable that the RJD Government be put back in place.

However, Jogi claimed that there was no deal between the Congress and the RJD on who would be the Chief Minister, saying that their only concern was the safety of Dalits in the State. 8220;It is up to the RJD to see who their CM will be. We will provide support to whoever the CM is. We have set an example in Orissa and it is for others to follow it or not,8221; Jogi said.

Meanwhile, CWC member Arjun Singh told a convention of Muslims here today that the Congress8217; commitment to the twin ideals of democracyand secularism is irrevocable and the party will go to the farthest extent to uphold them. Singh, who heads the party8217;s minority affairs department, said the Congress was alert and sensitive to matters affecting the minorities and would not do anything against their interests.

In another function, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said the Congress would extend all support to pass the Women8217;s Reservation Bill in the Budget session of the Parliament. On the occasion of Women8217;s Day today, she said her party intended to see the Bill passed in the current session.

Sonia recalled Mahatma Gandhi8217;s role in bringing women to the freedom movement, signalling the beginning of a process of emancipation through participation.

Left happy, but warns Rabri

Describing the revocation of President8217;s rule in Bihar as a second lease of life that the Laloo Yadav-Rabri Devi duo is being given, the two Left parties have demanded that long-promised issues like land reform now be taken up in earnest.

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The ambivalence ofthe Left parties on the revocation of President8217;s rule was evident in the joint statement issued by the CPIM and the CPI.

On the one hand they hailed the revocation calling it a victory for democracy, but on the other hand they issued a warning to the Laloo Yadav-Rabri Devi combine exhorting them to implement land reforms in right earnest. The Rashtriya Janata Dal Government would have to take immediate steps to ensure protection of Dalits and the oppressed sections of the rural poor, the statement said.

The two parties hailed the revocation as an important victory for democratic forces in the country, saying the BJP leadership is squarely responsible for this debacle8217;. The BJP had sought to misuse Article 356 not once, but twice, within the space of six months to dislodge an elected state government. 8220;No other Central Government has been so brazen or authoritarian in its persistence to misuse the draconian provisions of Article 3568221;, the two parties said.