Upset Cabinet ministers in the Manmohan Singh government took on Union home minister Shivraj Patil at a meeting of the Union Cabinet on Thursday morning, criticising him sharply for failing to take the Naveen Patnaik government to task over the violence against Christians in Orissa.
Patil?s taciturn style met with acute disapproval from his ministerial colleagues, who maintained that this was a critical moment when the UPA government should be seen as standing up for minorities. On Wednesday Patil had visited Kandhamal in Orissa, the worst hit by communal violence, but refused to say anything against the Patnaik government. ??I am not here to indulge in blame game?? he had said.
In the cabinet meeting, sources said the issue was raised by AR Antulay, who made it pretty evident that the Patil was found wanting in sending a stern message to the Orissa government. According to sources, Antulay even went to the extent of recalling what all he had done as chief minister in Maharashtra to ensure the safety and security of minorities.
Antulay only provided the trigger for the unhappy gathering in the Cabinet meeting, who promptly gave their own unflattering assessment of the manner in which the Orissa developments were being handled. The demand for imposing a ban on the RSS and VHP was raised by one of the ministers, while another went to the extent of suggesting that provisions in Article 355 of the constitution be invoked to send a stern warning to the Patnaik government. Both steel minister Ram Vilas Paswan and railway minister Lalu Prasad have already demanded that the RSS and the VHP be banned.
The Union home minister, according to sources, however refused to be provoked by the agitated ministers and only gave a factual account of his visit to Orissa. Among those who voiced their disapproval were PR Dasmunshi, Kapil Sibal, Vyalar Ravi and Lalu Prasad.
Meanwhile, Left parties knocked the doors of Rashtrapati Bhavan requesting President Pratibha Patil to ban saffron outfits, VHP and Bajrang Dal, for their ??terrorist-like?? activities in Orissa and other parts of the country. A delegation led by senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat told the President that if the government could not ban these outfits, at least it should put them under ??serious monitoring??. ??The Centre is not doing anything. It has remained a mute spectator in the whole episode. We demand strong and stringent action against the culprits,?? Karat told reporters after the meeting.