Don’t target Centre, blame state govt: Bajpai to writers

GORAKHPUR: State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Laxmikant Bajpai has appealed to writers not to target the NDA government for increasing communal violence in the country.

Instead, he urged them to find fault with the state government for the poor law and order situation that led them to return their prestigious awards in recent days.

“It is disheartening that writers are returning their awards. It is their personal right to receive or return the awards, but why are they targeting the Centre while returning the honours? Law and order is a state subject. Instead of targeting the Centre for increasing crimes, they should speak out against the state government under which over 300 cases of communal tension have been reported,” the BJP leader said.

“Why don’t they speak up against the government in Uttar Pradesh, which has seen a sharp rise in crime against women? In the assembly, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav himself admitted that the law and order situation in the state was poor,” said Bajpai, who was in Gorakhpur to attend a Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) programme organised at the Sanskriti public school on Monday in the presence of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

Replying to question about urban development minister Azam Khan’s insistence on taking the Dadri incident to the United Nations, Bajpai reminded the minster of the oath he had taken when he became an MLA and cabinet minister.

“I hope Azam Khan will think about the country’s pride before going to the UN as he has taken an oath to abide by the Indian Constitution while becoming an MLA and minister,” said Bajpai.