Orissa violence figures in cabinet, demands for Prez rule

The Union Cabinet meeting saw demands for banning Bajrang Dal and imposition of President’s rule in Orissa.

The Union Cabinet meeting on Wednesday saw demands for banning Bajrang Dal and imposition of President’s rule in Orissa where Christians have been targeted in the recent past.

At the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister Shivraj Patil presented a report sent by the state government on the situation, sources said.

In the report, the BJD-BJP government is understood to have said that it had done everything possible to check violence.

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Apparently not satisfied with the report, some ministers, including Ram Vilas Paswan and Lalu Prasad, demanded imposition of President’s rule in the state by invoking of Article 356, the sources said.

They also demanded a ban on Bajrang Dal, which has been accused of being responsible for the violence against Christians in Orissa.

At the last Cabinet meeting on October 3, the Prime Minister had sought a report from the Home Minister about the situation in Orissa as also Karnataka, where similar incidents were witnessed.

Afterwards, Patil wrote a strongly-worded letter to Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and spoke to Governor M C Bhandare.

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Patil’s actions fuelled speculation that the Centre may take the extreme step of imposing President’s rule in the state.

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