Mahajan dares DF Govt to punish staff

The senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader was replying to queries from mediapersons in view of Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s statement in Aurangabad yesterday that action would be taken against government employees for their association with RSS.

Mahajan further stated that courts have always held that RSS is a cultural organisation and not a political one.

Asked about Gujarat Government’s decision allowing its employees to participate in RSS activities, he said “Somebody, having a populargovernment enforced the ban on the organisation in 1986 but the present Gujarat Govrnment, which has two-third majority in the assembly has lifted it”.

He said there was no ban on the organisation when the Constitution was drafted.

Asked to comment on the Chief Minister’s remark that government would take action against both RSS and ISI, Mahajan quipped “means there will be no action against RSS”.

Asked about Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray’s deadline of April for the fall of Congress-led DF government, Mahajan said “It might be preponed also”.“But plans of toppling a government are not discussed publicly”, Mahajan said and refused to divulge the Sena-BJP’s strategy.

BOUNDARY ISSUE: Mahajan today ruled out a mediator’s role for the Centre in the vexed issue of Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary dispute.

“Unless both the states strike a balance and come out with a solution on the four-decade-long problem the Centre can do very little in this regard”, Mahajan told a meet-the-press programmeorganised by Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh here.

The BJP-led Union Government would certainly facilitate the dialogue process between the two states, the senior BJP leader replied to a query.He further said, “The problem is decades old and most of the political parties involved are divided on the issue.