NEW DELHI: Claiming that the credibility of the P.V.Narasimha Rao government had hit rock-bottom, the BJP on Jan.18 said that no amount of reshuffling the council of ministers would help. And that the only honorable course for the government was to go in for fresh general elections.
In a statement here, the party vice president, S.S.Bhandani said inducting Damesh Singh into the Union cabinet made it obvious that Rao wanted to “checkmate” another Thakur, Arjun Singh. This indicated that the Prime Minister was willing to wound but afraid to strike at his chief rival in the party, he alleged.
“The induction of Capt. Satish Sharma as minister of state with independent charge, and the recent appointment of P.C.Alexander as governor of Maharashtra, both of them known Sonia fans, shows that the Prime Minister is kowtowing 10, Janpath,” Bhandani said.
He claimed that the fact that new portfolios were not announced simultaneously with the swearing-in indicated a weakness of the government and added that the entire exercise highlighted the paucity of talent in the Congress parliamentary party. Rao, the BJP leader said, was afraid to drop any minister, and this was why he had asked for the resignation of all ministers. “This government has lost the confidence of the people on a wide varsity of issues, ranging from law and order to infiltration, economy and national security. Official spokesmen have publicly admitted foreign hand in the recent unprecedented violence in Bombay, and betrayed their impotence in crushing the same. The only honorable course for the government, therefore, is to go in for fresh national elections,” Bhandan stated.
In another statement, the party criticized the governments in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh for allegedly not allowing the BJP to function normally and to hold public meetings.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 22, 1993
