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Govt shielding Modi, alliance crumbling: Opposition

Participating in the discussion on an opposition-sponsored censure motion on Gujarat, it accused the government of conspiring to divide the country in its attempt to 'save' the beleaguered chief minister.

Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, who initiated the debate, likened Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Emperor Nero, who was playing the fiddle while Rome was burning.

"How many more bodies and how many more incidents of arson will it take for you to become active?" he asked the prime minister.

Hailing Lok Jan Shakti leader Ram Vilas Paswan for severing ties with the NDA, he appealed to other secular parties in the ruling alliance to follow suit.

Describing the incidents in Gujarat as a 'blot' on the nation, he wanted the BJP's allies to understand that the question was not of survival of the government but of the country.

The SP leader said the prime minister could even now ask Modi to quit or dismiss his government if he fails to oblige.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi demanded immediate removal of Modi for his failure to fulfil his constitutional obligations and asked the Centre to issue a directive to the state government to control the communal disturbances without any delay.

The leader of the opposition also sought appointment of a sitting Supreme Court judge to probe the continuing violence.

In a hard-hitting speech in which she attacked Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sonia Gandhi wanted all recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission to be implemented and bringing to book of all guilty immediately by initiating firm law and order measures and providing full relief and rehabilitation to all those affected by the riots.

The Sabarmati in Flames: Complete Coverage

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