Govt evading debate on CTBT: Banatwalla

The Muslim League leader felt the Vajpayee government had not been paying proper attention to address the national issues and to solving other burning problems of the people. Instead of tackling the problems, it was pursuing its own agenda of `saffronisation’ of the country, which he said was a disturbing phenomenon.

“Our doubts about the government pursuing a hidden agenda are coming true,” Banatwalla said.

Banatwalla took exception to a recent statement of Union Home Minister L K Advani proposing to change the name of Red Fort. “I have written a letter to the Prime Minister to lodge a strong protest on the move. It will be like taking a chapter out of the Indian history, if such a thing happens,” he said. The Muslim League president, who is also a sixth term MP, however, says he had nothing against Subash Chander Bose, after whose name Advani proposes to name the Red Fort but changing the name he felt, was highly objectionable.

The veteran Parliamentarian is also unhappy over new appointments made by the government at Indian Council for Historical Research. All new appointees are those who toe the line of the RSS. “This cultural nationalisation equating Hinduvta and Hinduism, is a disturbing thing,” he said.

Later, speaking at the orientation programme, Banatwala emphasised the need for effective participation by MLAs in the legislative business – which he observed had been the prime function of a MP or MLA. He expressed concern over the fact that legislative business, which used to be 48 per cent of the total work had come down to a meagre 18 per cent.

Justice D. Raju, Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court, who spoke on relationship between the executive legislature and judiciary, underlined the need for close cooperation in the functioning of all these organs and said: “Concentration of powers in any one of these is likely to upset the fine balance between the three. Even courts are not above law and they have to act strictly in accordance with the Constitution”.