Congress demands dismissal of Vasundhara Government

Jaipur, May 1 (UNI) The Congress today charged the Vasundhara Raje Government in Rajasthan with failing to safeguard the interests the minorities and urged Governor Pratibha Patil to dismiss it.

Addressing a press conference here, party state president B D Kalla said the ruling BJP and other saffron outfits were trying to disrupt communal harmony and peace in the state and the BJP-led government had not been dealing appropriately with such efforts.

Mr Kalla said that over a dozen incidents of attacks on minorities had occurrred at various places in the state during recent months but the Vasundhara Government had failed to take stern action against guilty in these.

He said that recent incident of assault on a Christian missionary preacher Walter Massey had occurred on April 29 in Nandpuri locality of the state capital in which about a dozen masked youths had stormed into Massey's house and beaten him up badly.

''The government had so far not dealt the incident appropriately and efforts to weaken the police case against the accused were being made. The accused were acting in collusion with VHP functionaries,'' he alleged.

Mr Kalla noted that, a number of incidents of attack on members of miniorities or damage to their religious places of had occurred at different places including Sikar, Bhilwara, Banswara, Suratgarh, Lalsot and Ajmer but on most of the occasions, the state government had exhibited ''soft attitude'' towards the accused and their alleged supporters.

Mr Kalla alleged that outfits like Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal were trying to trigger ''neo terrorism and communal hatred'' in the state and the government had not demonstrated its intention to prevent such incidents and curb these elements.

He said that a Congress delegation had met Governor Mrs Pratibha yestereday and submitted the party demand for dismissal of the government.

He said that if the demand was not accepted then his party would hold peaceful agitation to expose the BJP government in the state.

UNI