UPA government has created messy Centre-state stalemate: Advani

Hindupur, Andhra Pradesh, Apr 16 (UNI) Senior BJP leader L K Advani today charged the UPA government with creating a ''messy Centre-state stalemate through the politically-motivated manner'' in which it has tried to block the construction of the Narmada dam up to a height of 121.92 meteres, as permitted by the Supreme Court.

''Stopping further work on the mega (Narmada) project in which the states concerned have already invested Rs 21,000 crore in 16 years makes a mockery of UPA government's tall talk of Bharat Nirman,'' he said during his Bharat Suraksha Yatra.

''It will be a sad day for Indian democracy if Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is forced to go on hunger strike to quench the thirst of his people,'' the BJP leader said.

Mr Advani, who spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last night on the phone and sought his personal intervention to sort out the Narmada tangle, today charged Dr Singh with showing ''indecision, drift and bias'' in tackling the matter.

Accusing the government for 'surrendering' before the anti-dam activists and promising them that further work on the Narmada project would be stalled -- in contravention of the spirit of Supreme Court judgement -- he said the Prime Minister ''seemed to show his helplessness in the matter, by saying the opinion of the six-member review committee was divided.'' ''The Prime Minister had turned a blind eye to the blatantly partisan conduct of Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz,'' Mr Advani said.

Maintaining that there was no division of opinion among the chief ministers of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan on raising height of the dam, he said as far Gujarat is concerned, ''there was no division of opinion between the ruling BJP and the opposition, Congress party.'' ''In a rare display of bipartisan solidarity, both are unanimous in wanting construction of the dam to continue upto the permissible height,'' Mr Advani noted.

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