SK Singh remark was like Gandhi power-cut: Cong

Thu, May 22 02:33 AM

Coming to the defence of Rajasthan Governor S K Singh, who raised hackles in political circles by intervening in the ongoing debate on the deportation of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, the Congress on Wednesday sought to draw a parallel between his remarks and West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi's decision to switch off lights in Raj Bhavan for two hours daily to empathise with the people reeling under power crisis.

According to AICC spokesperson Manish Tewari, there were two aspects to the current debate on immigrants in the wake of the serial bomb blasts. First, the Foreigners' Act clearly laid down procedures for the deportation of illegal immigrants. Secondly, the investigations into the blast have to be done in a professional manner.

"What the Rajasthan Government is doing is mixing up two things. When the people of Kolkata suffered from a power crisis, the West Bengal Governor switched off the lights in Raj Bhavan for two hours to empathise with the people. Similarly, in the wake of cataclysmic incident in Jaipur, Rajasthan Governor, just because he is a Constitutional head, does not get precluded from expressing his opinion," Tewari said.

Speaking to The Indian Express on Tuesday, the Rajasthan Governor had chosen to recall his days in the External Affairs Ministry when the political masters were seeking to help these immigrants. He had cited an instance in 1990 when in his presence V P Singh had assured Bangladeshi immigrants in Yamuna Pushta here that he would get them ration cards. Singh had also made cryptic remarks about the role of ideology and human rights in the context of the state Government's decision to deport illegal immigrants.

The Congress on Wednesday also sought to defend Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil who had chosen to gloss over official records to allege that Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was lying about the Centre's directive to the state to set up detention centres for illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. Official records, however, showed it was actually the Home Minister who was ignoring facts on this issue.

"When you identify somebody who is an illegal immigrant, what do you do until his deportation? They have to be kept at some place. Besides, the Home Minister was reacting to a series of statements by the CM, and not to any individual issue," said Tewari.

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