KOCHI, June 18: The law and order situation in all the three states ruled by the Left parties - Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura - is far from satisfactory, according to BJP president Kushabhau Thakre.Addressing a meet-the-press programme organised by the Ernakulam Press Club on Wednesday, Thakre said political murders have become the order of the day in Kerala. Ever since the Nayanar Government took over two years ago, 20-odd activists of the BJP and RSS have been murdered in cold blood by CPM cadres.Asked whether the situation in Kerala calls for invocation of Article 356, Thakre said it "requires more consideration". "If the situation warrants, it can be done," he said.Describing the situation in Bihar as alarming, he said law and order machinery did not exist in that State.The BJP, Thakre said, is against misusing Article 356. Moreover, the Government has to exercise extreme caution in invoking Article 356 as any such action taken without proper consideration may not stand legal scrutiny andis likely to be rejected by the President as had happened in the case of Uttar Pradesh.Asked about the conflicting views being expressed by BJP leaders regarding the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya, Thakre said the BJP is committed in its manifesto to construct the temple if it secured absolute majority in the Lok Sabha. But since it had to seek the support of allies to form the Government, a national agenda acceptable to all supporting parties was evolved as a basic policy document to run the Government. Naturally it had to shelve the Ram temple proposal "as in a coalition set-up, the BJP cannot impose its will on its allies".Asked for his comments on the claims being made by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders that the Ram temple construction is already on, Thakre said, "The claims are true. The construction activities have been going on before the public eye right from 1991 when Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister. The Congress did not raise the issue then".Admitting that there arepressures on the BJP from its allies, Thakre said unlike the United Front Government, the present Government is not a "prisoner of indecision". It has got down to the task of implementing the national agenda in right earnest. By conducting the nuclear tests, the Vajpayee Government has demonstrated that India would not yield to "blackmail by Western countries".Asked how he rated the performance of Sonia Gandhi as Congress president, Thakre said he did not wish to say anything on Sonia, but added that the "Congress is not going to rise". The Congress is in the hands of a pack of ambitious and power-hungry people who have lost touch with the masses, he said. While acknowledging the fact that the BJP does not have any representation in the Lok Sabha from Kerala, he said the BJP will "directly go to the people" of the State and win their confidence. The BJP is known to the people of Kerala as portrayed by the party's opponents.
