THE BHARATIYA Janata Party has called for a UP bandh on Wednesday against the Varanasi blasts. This bandh follows the one observed by the party after the Lucknow violence a few days ago.
On his part, the party’s national president Rajnath Singh, along with State chief Keshari Nath Tripathi and national vice-president Kalyan Singh, will be rushing to the holy city tomorrow.
The BJP leaders may not be allowed to enter Varanasi, if the law and order situation deteriorates. Rajnath had staged an indefinite dharna in Varanasi, demanding a CBI probe into the murder of party MLA Krishnanand Rai. This was seen as an effort to revive the party in the State, especially eastern UP, which used to be a BJP stronghold till sometime ago. He had even launched a Nyaya Yatra, which was flagged off by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
While the BJP demanded immediate dismissal of the Mulayam Government and imposition of President’s rule, other Opposition parties condemned the bomb blast and accused the Samajwadi Party of vitiating the atmosphere for political gains.
Keshari Nath Tripathi condemned the blast at the Sankat Mochan temple and urged the Central Government to expose the Samajwadi Party-ISI links. Tripathi said that the Chief Minister had not taken any action against his minister Haji Yaqub, who gave a ‘supari’ to kill a Danish cartoonist.
{{/usCountry}}Keshari Nath Tripathi condemned the blast at the Sankat Mochan temple and urged the Central Government to expose the Samajwadi Party-ISI links. Tripathi said that the Chief Minister had not taken any action against his minister Haji Yaqub, who gave a ‘supari’ to kill a Danish cartoonist.
{{/usCountry}}Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tiwari criticised the ‘forces’ responsible for the Varanasi blasts, which were “yet another instance of the gross failure of the Mulayam Government”. He said that the SP and the BJP were coming closer and neither ever failed to cash in on the communal situation for political gains.