NEW DELHI: Chief Minister of the eastern state of Orissa and one of the influential members of the ruling Indian party Wednesday held hectic consultations with senior leaders here on matters relating to the party and prospects of a midterm poll to the parliament.
After a series of meeting with veteran party leader Chandrasekhar, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, and Gujarat chief minister Chimanbhai Patel, Patnaik told newsmen that they discussed the state of the nation and the current ant reservationists agitation in various parts of the country.
Patnaik was the first ruling party chief minister who rejected government’s recently announced policy of 27 per cent reservation of government jobs for the socially backward class of the Indian community. The government’s decision on job reservation was based on the recommendation of “Mandal commission”. The economic issues facing the country also came up for discussion among these leaders.
In reply to questions, Patnaik dismissed as rubbish the reports that a section of the top Janata Dal functionaries were contemplating a change in the national front parliamentary party leadership.
You hear only rumors and gossip Patnaik told newsmen who wanted to know if there was a possibility of some other leader taking over the leadership from V.P. Singh.
He said that during his discussions with party leaders the prospects of a midterm poll to Lok Sabha did crop up. When asked about the prime minister’s declaration that the national front government would stay in power for five years to implement its poll manifesto, he said the government would continue for five years. Still they had to discuss the issue because if a situation (of snap polls) arose, then they had to face it.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 21, 1990
