NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister Mr Chandra Shekar, won a vote of confidence in his government in the Lok Sabha on Nov 16.
The often noisy seven hour debate on the motion was largely predictable with the Congress (I) and its allies supporting the motion and the BJP, the Left parties and Mr V.P.Singh Janata Dal opposing it.
The Akali Dal (Mann) group and the Bahujan Samaj Party were among those who abstained. However, Ms Mayawati of the BSP made it clear in her speech earlier that her party felt the time was not right for elections and, if the Chandra Shekhar ministry were to require support, her party would extend it, She strongly castigated Mr V.P.Singh government for not being pro poor except in name.
Chandrashekhar made an appeal for support from all sections of the people while answering the debate. He brought a tone of sobriety and reason to his concluding speech, as a packed House, galleries, and even the staff crowding around the doors listened.
He emphasized the importance of the Janmabhoomi embroglio and appealed for a solution beyond politics, He was proud of being a Hindu, he said and would be happy if a glorious temple to Ram could be constructed at his birth place. But this must be done with the cooperation and goodwill of the Muslims, he said.
He noted that minorities everywhere have a psyche of insecurity and asked the majority community to allay their fears.
He said he felt sad if a single “son or daughter of mother India died” but added that sometimes the state had to take hard decisions. He made it clear that, while he was ready to talk to every citizen of India “however he may be on a wrong path” he said. ‘Dissociating himself effectively
from the previous government, the new prime minister said “I will not complete the work of the previous prime minister and I will not be the puppet of anybody.”
Though he and Mr Vascant Sathe, speaking for the Congress (D), spoke of a long innings for this government the debate because a virtual exposition of election planks for the other parties. Clearly, secularism was the biggest issue, as the BJP and the Left parties as well as smaller ones, such as the BSP and the Akalis, dwelt on it at length, Mr Madhu Dandavate, speaking for the Janata Dallike the leftist speakers, insisted the new government did not have a mandate. The mandate for the ninth Lok Sabha was clearly a rejection of the Congress (I) and that mandate was being rudely flouted, they said.
Like the Left parties and the BJP, he clearly spoke of the “money changing hands in the process of splitting the Janata Dal.
Mr Sathe on the other hand, wanted to other parties could claim singly to have the mandate of the people. He spoke of the castes and communal anarchy” which Mr V.P.Singh had “unleashed”.
He lambasted Mr Singh personally for being a turncoat who had given up his party and leader. Calling chima Brutus, Mr Sathe said he was shocked that Mr Singh never took the name of Nehru or the person he used to refer to as his mother.
The Bofors issue is still alive and kicking, this debate showed. Mr L.K.Advani made prominent mention of it as did the left parties. Mr Chandra Shekhar was criticised for saying the investigation was the job of the police, not the prime minister.
The latter, assured the House the investigation would not be forgotten but added that it was not the most important issue before the nation.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 23, 1990
