The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Saturday, March 17, 2001,
Chandigarh, India

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Samata targets PMO
Sharp differences among MPs
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 16
Even as the Samata Party today declared its continuation in the N DA, sharp inter-personal differences within the 12 Lok Sabha MP-strong party have come into the open with some of the members demanding the removal of Mr Brajesh Mishra and Mr N.K.Singh from the PMO, indicating signs of deeper crisis than what appears at the surface.

While former Samata Party President Jaya Jaitley described the demands for the sacking of Mr Mishra and Mr N.K. Singh made by party MPs Raghunath Jha, Prabhunath Singh, Renu Singh as “individual” demands, the sources said a majority of Samata leaders were not happy with the appointment of Mr V.V.Krishna Rao as the acting President of the party in place of Ms Jaitley leading to lack of control of Mr Fernandes over developments.

Even Mr Fernandes sought to deny that his party colleagues had demanded either an inquiry against two senior officials of the PMO, namely Mr Mishra and Mr N.K.Singh or their resignations.

On the one hand some party MPs are unhappy that a relatively unknown party member has been appointed as the acting president of the party, while others are angry at the treatment meted out to Mr Fernandes by the Prime Minister.

While Union Agriculture Minister Nitesh Kumar, Minister of State for Railways Digvijay Singh and Minister of State for Consumer Affairs V. Sreenivasa Prasad continued to insist that their resignations from the Council of Ministers be accepted in support of their leader, two Samata MPs demanded a thorough “clean up” of the PMO.

Mr Prabhunath Singh and Mr Raghunath Jha said:“The Prime Minister should immediately remove Mr Mishra if he was keen on presenting a clean image of his government”.

They were also very critical of the Prime Minister’s foster son-in-law Ranjan Bhatacharya.

Stressing that Mr Fernandes was made a sacrificial goat, Mr Prabhunath Singh said, “We, Samata Party MPs, are sending a letter to the Prime Minister in this regard”.

Asked if his party would withdraw support from the crisis-ridden NDA government if Mr Vajpayee did not take any action, he said, “If our demand is not met, we will decide the next course of action.” To a question that if it was the party line or his personal opinion, he claimed it to be the view of party colleagues.

While no one wants to go on record to express displeasure on Mr Rao being made the acting President, sources said Mr Prabhunath Singh and Mr Jha had adopted aggressive postures with the backing of the Defence Minister.

Cong not keen on snap poll
T.R. Ramachandran
Tribune News Service

Bangalore, March 16
The Congress which is desperately trying to reinvent itself with the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Pondicherry round the corner, begins a two-day plenary session at Rajiv Gandhi Nagar here tomorrow.

A lot will of course depend on how party President Sonia Gandhi sets the tone for the electoral battle ahead along with taking on the Vajpayee government at the Centre which is passing through a baptism of fire yet again because of tehelka.com’s expose pertaining to defence deals.

Congressmen are looking for a messiah to show them the way. They are anxiously waiting for Mrs Gandhi to galvanise a demoralised rank and file. There is also discernible circumspection if the party can arrest the downswing in capturing the imagination of the people at large once again.

There is no doubt that the controversy surrounding the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government could not have come at a better time than on the eve of the 81st plenary session of the Congress which was postponed last month because of the devastating January 26 earthquake in Gujarat. Attention will no doubt be riveted on the unsavoury goings-on in the NDA government and to capitalise on it in the assembly elections to be held next month.

Opinion is sharply divided in the Congress High Command on how to put the Vajpayee government on the mat for its alleged acts of omission and commission. A section of opinion in the party firmly believes that nothing should be done in the immediate or medium term, whereby a vacuum is created necessitating a mid-term poll.

At the same time, the hawks in the Congress insist that pressure should be mounted to see the back of the Vajpayee government on the Raisina Hill in New Delhi.

Discriminating Congressmen maintain that nothing should be done to force a snap election on the election. They are advocating such an approach on the ground that the Congress is ill-prepared to meet the challenge of general election if it is thrust on the country within the next one year. Mrs Gandhi’s appointment as party President will be ratified even if it is a mere formality.

In keeping with theatrics, it is one thing to demand the resignation of the NDA government on moral grounds. However, next is the question what the Congress thinktank should dwell on. Is the Congress in a position to provide a viable alternative or can it say with any authority that the party can pull off the unexpected?

These are some of the posers of Congressmen themselves for which they lack convincing answers. There is a growing realisation in the Congress that the leadership will have to adopt a practical approach of working out pre-poll alliances in states with like-minded regional parties which enjoy a considerable influence in terms of votes. Most of these leaders feel that the party will need to do some intense soul-searching to find an echo in most parts of the country where its support has plummeted.

The Congress President , who arrived here tonight, chaired a sitting of the Congress working Committee which considered the overall political developments in New Delhi.