SOMNATH, Sept 26: Lal Krishna Advani has kept his date with the Lord Shiva deity at Somnath temple for the ninth consecutive year, from where he had started his Rath Yatra for construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya nine years ago.Later while addressing a public gathering at Somnath, Advani said that his yesterday's visit to the temple has a special significance as after a long political struggle a Bharatiya Janata Party government has been established at the Centre. The government, he said, was committed to making the ideals of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the architect of the Somnath revival project, come true.
``What Sardar Patel and Mahatma Gandhi defined as Ram Rajya, that we have to establish. This visit is especially significant as BJP has now come to power after a long struggle,'' Advani said.
Speaking to newsmen, Advani defended the stand of the Union government in asking the President to dissolve the Bihar Legislative Assembly. ``What needs to be seen is that whether a real government existsin the state, not if a constitutionally elected government existed,'' he stated.
He said thousands of employees and teachers there had not been paid salary, and the government itself was facing some 1,200 cases of contempt of court.Advani said that under Section 167 of the Indian Constitution a chief minister is supposed to keep the Governor informed about administrative and other activities. ``But ever since Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari went to Bihar five months back, Chief Minister Rabri Devi has not even talked to him on the telephone,'' pointed out the Home Minister. ``The only person who has met the Governor in these months has been Laloo Prasad Yadav.'' About discontent in the BJP rank and file in Gujarat, particularly in the wake of Suresh Mehta's resignation, Advani said that the matter had been resolved.
About the recent floods in Surat, Advani said that the Central Government had sought details from the State Government and would act after analysing the facts.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.