The fall of the 10-month old Deve Gowda Government appeared imminent tonight with the Prime Minister determined to face the Lok Sabba tomorrow despite the failure of the UF-Congress peace parleys on the question of his leadership of the 13 party combine.
‘We have decided to go to Parliament to place our position and defend it,” said the CPI-M’s Harkishen Singh Surjeet, the UF’s chief negotiator in the abortive peace process. The decision he announced this evening, in the presence of Front convenor Chandrababu Naidu and other leaders, was that of the combine’s Steering Committee, which met twice over the day after the final round of discussions with the Congress team at Mr Sharad Pawar’s Rakabganj Road residence.
The talks reportedly broke down when Mr A. K. Antony sugSested that at least Mr Deve Gowda be removed as Prime Minister if the UF wasn’t agreeable to a Congress-led coalition at the Centre. To that, Janata Dal president Laloo Yadav, who participated in this morning’s discussions a place of his senior party colleague, Mr Sharad Yadav, reacted curtly.
Even Mr Surjeet is believed to have commented that no purpose would be served by continumg the discussions if the Congress objective was to have Mr Deve Gowda dislodged. He replied in the affirmative when Mr Pawar sought to know whether that was the “bottom line” from the Front’s standpoint.
{{/usCountry}}Even Mr Surjeet is believed to have commented that no purpose would be served by continumg the discussions if the Congress objective was to have Mr Deve Gowda dislodged. He replied in the affirmative when Mr Pawar sought to know whether that was the “bottom line” from the Front’s standpoint.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress is understood to have given the UF time till 11 a.m. tomorrow to reconsider its hardline position on the leadership change. But the ruling combination as not expected to budge on the vexed issue.
The Congress demand for a change of UF leadership, averred Mr Surjeet while talking to newsmen, was not just unbecoming of a “serious” political party but was aimed at fomenting differences in the ruling combine. “If something comes up by tomorrow morning, it can be discussed,” he continued. “But we are quite firm on ascertaining how they justify (in Parliament) their one-point plan of changing the UF leadership...”
The hope of an overnight breakthrough, as reflected in Mr Surjeet’s statement, wasn’t shared by Mr V. P. Singh, the ailing former Premier who first took the initiative of opening informal discussions with the Congress. “The failure of the talks is unfortunate,” he told The Hindustan Times, adding: “The outcome has disheartened people with secular leanings... Hoping for any development now (before voting) is hoping against hope. But it’s only hope at one can have in a hospital bed.”
Regardless of the public posturing, the UPs decision to take a confidence vote seemed to be aimed at ideologically restraining in the “fluid” political scenario, individual Congress and UF MPs, a majority of whom were not the least enthusiastic about facing the electorate so early. “We want to see,” remarked Mr Surjeet, “whether the Congress brigs down the Government by joining hands with the friends (read BJP) against whom we formed the Front…
In a way, the CPI-M leader’s observations also ruled out a post-vote rapprochement offered by Congress spokesman V. N. Gadgil for “containing the communal forces”. With the UF allies issuing whips to their MPs at a dinner hosted tonight by Mr Deve Gowda, the two sides seemed to be moving inexorably towards a show down.
However, the attendance wasn’t very impressive at the Premier’s dinner, with Mr Indrajit Gupta, Mr M. Karunanidhi, Mr G. K. Moopanar (who called on the President late in the night) and Mr Murasoli Maran not showing up.
Mr Surjeet did not dwell at length on the UF’s strategy after Mr Deve Gowda’s expected ouster. But the Prime Minister, as per the trend of discussions at the Steering Committee meetings, was expected to recommend the dissolution of the Lok Sabha after losing on the floor of the House. The gameplan, informed sources insisted, wouldn’t change even if the BJP decided to abstain from the vote to deny the Congress a presidential invitation to try and form a Government.
The Premier’s advice for the dissolution of the House after losing its confidence would have to be supported by written communications - to the President - by the UF constituents that no other political formation’s bid for power had their backing.
At the Steering Committee meeting, Mr A. B. Bardhan of the CPI emphasised the need for obtaining such letters. But no formal decision was taken as the discussions focussed mostly on the legal and political aspects of the dissolution question.
However, sources in the Front admitted that the fate of the dissolution move would depend on the President’s appreciation of the situation. “In the Indian context the matter hasn’t been authoritatively pronounced upon,” they said.