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Tuesday, May 5, 1998

No hidden agenda says Advani, assures fair review of statute

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE  
Gandhinagar, May 4: Union Home Minister L K Advani today sought to deflect criticism of the Constitutional review commission being set up saying that there's no ``hidden agenda'' and that the Government was firmly committed to ``our electoral democracy and to the basic features of the Constitution including secularism.''

Speaking at the concluding session of the three-day BJP convention here, Advani said: ``We only want to identify weaknesses and rectify them.'' One idea he floated was that of a Presidential form of government. He said that the review commission would study government forms in other democracies, including the presidential system, and then make its recommendations.

Citing the Supreme Court ruling in the Keshavanand Bharati case, Advani said that the order had avoided mentioning any particular form of government except underscoring ``people's democracy.'' This could be interpreted either way, he said.

The Home Minister defended the Government's decision to appoint political leaders asGovernors, saying that the BJP had never agreed with this portion of the Sarkaria Commission's recommendations.

Advani said that the Government had scrupulously adhered to the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission. For instance, it had consulted all state governments where the governors were being changed. He recalled that when reports appeared that the Government was planning a change of governors, many of them telephoned him and the PM to ascertain the truth. He said he assured them that those who had not completed their terms would not be moved, whether they were appointed by the Congress or the United Front. ``We only changed those who had misused their office blatantly and those who were appointed by the caretaker govt.

Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.



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