NEW DELHI: The BJP is bracing itself for a full-fledged confrontation with the Narasimha Rao Government following the dismissal of its governments in three States close on the heels of arrest of its top leaders and ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Singh and allied organizations.
All indications available here Suggest that the party is preparing for a mid-term poll which it feels will be held before next summer possibly in April.
The party held two high-level meetings on Dec.15 and nearly finalized a mass contact program. “We will oppose the dismissals both inside and outside Parliament” the party secretary J.P.Mathur remarked.
The party meetings took stock of the emerging political scenario. Party leaders viewed the dismissal as a signal for an all-out confrontation and felt that the Centers action had removed limitations presently imposed on the party because of the Constitutional obligations of its governments.
Party vice-president S.S.Bhandari described the dismissal as a case of the tail wagging the dog” with “a failing Prime Minister” knuckling under the pressure of a section of the Congress.
The key figures in the mass contact program would be apart from A.B. Vajpayee the dismissed party Chief Ministers and Sikander Bakht leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
A formal meeting of the party’s central office-bearers was attended by the three CMs Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Sunder Lal Patwa and Shanta Kumar who specially flew in here for the purpose before they were dismissed.
This was followed by a meeting of the executive committee of the party in Parliament. The leaders present at these meetings included Vajpayee Bhandari Bakht K.R.Malkani Vishnu Kant Shastri Jana Krishnamurthy Jaswant Singh O.Rajagopal and Pramod Mahajan.
Party leaders drew the conclusion about the possibility of a snap poll from the difficulty that the Rao Government would face in getting the budget passed in the next Parliament session.
Their premise was that the Government would find it impossible to muster the support of Left parties for a budget guided by International Monetary Fund’s specifications.
It is nearly certain that in its present mood the party would not allow Parliament to function when it reopens on Wednesday if its demand was ensuring the presence of L.K.Advani leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha and party chief M.MJoshi was not met.
Keeping up the tempo on Wednesday would be a march by party MPs to the Rashtrapati Bhawan to present a memorandum to President S.D.Sharma against the arrest of its leader’s dismissal of party governments ban on its allied organizations and the move to rebuild the mosque in Ayodhya.
On Tuesday BJP leaders discussed their strategy as to what they should do in case Parliament is adjourned sine die on Wednesday or if internal emergency is imposed.
They discussed various options including launching a “jail bharo” stir as part of a nation-wide satyagraha. It was felt all party moves should be aimed towards facing a snap poll.
Article extracted from this publication >>
