NEW DELHI, March 13: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s prime ministerial nominee Atal Behari Vajpayee said yesterday that the states should be granted more powers to enable them to act on their own without having to depend on the centre in various crucial matters.He was addressing a gathering organised by the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal)'s (SAD) Delhi unit at his residence here.
Vajpayee said the state governments had to await the centre's decision in several important matters thereby delaying the implementation of programmes meant for welfare of the people, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, SAD leader Onkar Singh Thapar urged the BJP leader to ensure protection to minorities while referring to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Thapar welcomed the steps taken by the Delhi BJP government on compensating the victims and efforts made to take cases to their logical conclusion.
The function, organised to felicitate Vajpayee on his election as the leader of BJP and its allies in the Lok Sabha, was attended by Punjabminister Gobind Singh Kanjla.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
