J-K massacre — Cong to demand Advani’s resignation today

NEW DELHI, AUG 3: Hawks in the Congress are pressing the party leadership to demand the resignation of Union Home Minister L K Advani for ...

NEW DELHI, AUG 3: Hawks in the Congress are pressing the party leadership to demand the resignation of Union Home Minister L K Advani for what they call Government’s “misadventure in Kashmir”, leading to the death of over 100 innocent people.

However, the Congress, along with the other like-minded parties in the Lok Sabha, did not press for the demand today as an all-party delegation was to visit the Valley for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.

But tomorrow may be different. Sonia Gandhi has already sent word from Srinagar to party leaders to meet late in the night to take stock of the situation.

An indication of the party’s hawkish approach came from the party’s official spokesman who said: “The country is outraged. The Government has failed in handling the situation. We will decide our course according to the sentiments expressed by partymen.”

Sources say that a formal decision on party’s approach on L K Advani’s resignation will be taken tomorrow morning.

The hawks within the political affairs committee of the Congress Parliamentary Party feel that if the late Darabara Singh was made to quit the Punjab Chief Minister’s post in the early 80s when three dozen innocent people were killed by militants, why shouldn’t Advani be made to quit on a similar issue.

They say Advani is the in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir Affairs in Home Ministry and must take responsibility for the killings. He failed to take steps though he was aware that such an incident may take place.

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The Congress in the Rajya Sabha led by Kapil Sibal and Suresh Pachauri has formulated a joint strategy with other Opposition parties to embarrass the Government on the Attorney General issue as well.

Since Chairman Krishan Kant has yet to take a decision on the motion submitted by Kapil Sibal against Soli Sorabjee for his conduct, the Congress is now arguing that Kant should not deliver on a judgment on this motion as he himself is an interested party. They say that Soli Sorabjee was Kant’s lawyer when he was governor of Andhra Pradesh in the famous NTR-Naidu feud. Though some party leaders feel that this does not fall in the ambit of either law or propriety — as Kant did not hire Soli in his personal capacity but as Governor of Andhra Pradesh — the hawks say this is enough to embarrass the Government in the Upper House.

Margret Alva, Santosh Mohan Deb, Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, Mani Shanker Aiyer are some of the leaders who are considered the party’s hawks in the Lok Sabha. It is also learnt that chief whip of the party in Rajya Sabha Pranab Mukherjee has decided to back the hawks on the censure motion against Soli Sorabjee.