Coordination panel to meet
every month
Fernandes replaces Jaswant
as convener
NEW DELHI, Oct 9 (PTI)
— Sulking constituents of the BJP-led coalition at
the Centre scored a victory when their coordination
committee today decided to meet every month and replaced
its convener Mr Jaswant Singh of the BJP by the Defence
Minister, Mr George Fernandes.
The decision was taken at
a formal meeting of the committee held at the residence
of the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee shortly after
an informal tea gathering convened by the AIADMK supremo,
Ms Jayalalitha, favoured regular and periodic meetings of
the coalition coordination committee for better
governance.
The Samata Party leader,
Mr George Fernandes, was appointed convener of the
committee in place of Mr Jaswant Singh.
The decision to meet every
month was taken after several allies complained that the
coordination committee had not been meeting regularly and
that there were several issues like price rise which
needed to be urgently discussed at the apex political
level.
Today’s coordination
committee meeting, which was the first in more than three
months, was reportedly convened after Ms Jayalalitha sent
out invitations for an informal tea to all allies barring
the BJP and Tamil Nadu constituents.
After reported persuasion
by Mr Fernandes and the Akali Dal leader, Mr Parkash
Singh Badal, she added to the list of invitees the BJP
President, Mr Kushabhau Thakre, and Tamil Nadu allies
leaders, Mr Ramdoss of the PMK and Mr Vazhapady K.
Ramamurthy of the TRC, with whom her relations had soured
in the recent past.
A surprise invitee was the
Lok Shakti leader, Mr Ramakrishna Hegde, who said he
attended the tea because all allies were invited and the
situation had changed.
Briefing reporters after
the 90-minute meeting, Mr Jaswant Singh said he was being
relieved of the post of convener as he was preoccupied
with diplomatic assignments after Pokhran tests.
Last night’s decision
of the Prime Minister to postpone Cabinet expansion did
not figure in the coordination committee meeting, he
said.
A number of leaders
expressed concern over the price situation, especially
the abnormal jump in onion prices and the meeting
directed the government to take all measures, including
import of onion, to tackle the situation.
Mr Badal, the Haryana
Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, and Ms Jayalalitha raised
the question of the plight of farmers with Mr Badal
pointing out that the impression that farmers in Punjab
were prosperous unlike those in other parts of the
country was not by and large correct.
Serious concern was
expressed over the growing ISI activities in connivance
with the international terrorist Osama bin Laden and it
was felt that all necessary steps in this regard needed
to be taken.
The meeting felt that in a
span of less than four months after the Pokhran tests,
the international situation had been adequately and
satisfactorily managed by the government, Mr Jaswant
Singh said.
The allies wanted all
official languages made national languages and for this a
committee should be set up. The composition of the
committee should be left to the Prime Minister, he said.
The allies said in the
coming session of Parliament a legislation should be
brought to allow states to have reservation in excess of
the existing 51 per cent as per the Supreme Court
judgement, Mr Jaswant Singh said.
He said the issue of
expansion of the Union Council of Ministers did not
figure at the meeting in view of Prime Minister’s
decision to defer it till the end of winter session of
Parliament.
The controversy over
inclusion of Udham Singh Nagar district in the proposed
Uttaranchal state too was not raised at the meeting, he
said.
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