NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet which ordered the sack of the BJP governments in Madhya Pradesh Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh on Dec.15 was sharply divided on whether to dissolve the assemblies in these slates or to keep them in suspended animation.
The Cabinet met twice during the day before it decided to sack the BJP governments and to dissolve the state assemblies.
The decision followed three days of intense discussion in Government and in the Congress Party. Though the Congress Working Committee had on Dec.14 endorsed a strong line of action against the BJP governments there were signs of some rethinking in the party on Tuesday.
According to informed sources it was Welfare Minister Sitaram Kesri who reportedly called for fresh thinking on the issue. Speaking at the Cabinet meeting he expressed the view that there were no compelling reasons to dismiss the BJP Govt’s right away. If necessary it could done a few days later after monitoring how these governments enforced the orders to ban communal organizations. Energy Minister Kalpanth Raj and Surface Transport Minister Jagdish Tyter also made similar noises.
However others ruled this out. The discussion at the Cabinet centered essentially on whether to dissolve the state assemblies or keep them in animated suspension Several Ministers including M.L.Fotedar Kamal Nath V.C.Shukla B.Shankaranand Rajesh Pilot and Balram Jakhar made a case for dissolution while the first four Ministers spoke strongly on its desirability Pilot and Jakhar were more mild in their approach Interestingly enough besides Kesri Kalpnath Rai and Tytler it was Sharad Pawar who expressed reservations about the dissolution move and favored the other option of keeping the assedones in suspended animation.
In fact Kalpnath Rai is believed to have quipped that it would be desirable to send either Arjun Singh or Fotedar as Governor of UP.
Arjun Singh who has emerged as the main contender for Prime Minister Ship did not say anything at the Tuesday meetings. Singh has been pushing for the sack of the BJP Govt’s and for the dissolution of the state assemblies at various for a.
The Prime Minister also did not say much at the Tuesday meetings but kept listening to what one senior Minister described as an “animated discussion.”
The protagonists of dissolution argued that the idea was to send the BJP governments packing.
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