NEW DELHI: Internal strife in the Congress escalated on Aug.25 with Rao loyalists, led by Haryana Chief Minister, Bhajan Lal, demanding afresh Arjun Singh’s expulsion, even as the latter’s supporters threatened a showdown at Friday’s scheduled meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP).

While Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh has written to Prime Minister Narasimha Rao expressing his wish to speak at the CPP meeting, at least a dozen of his supporters have already written to CPP secretary Vilas Muttamwar that they too would like take the mike. This runs counter to Muttamwar’s earlier statement that no MP had given his name for speaking at the CPP.

In the gathering storm in the Congress, Bhajan Lal supporters had raked up the Churhat controversy once again with a view to embarrassing the HRD Minister. Ahandbill detailing his “dubious” track record was being circulated among party men inside the premises of Parliament House.

The offensive from the Rao camp came after the record attendance at the dinner meeting hosted by R.Prabhu gave rise to concern, Several MPs, including Manj Shankar Aiyer, met the Prime Minister later to clarify that they had attended the dinner, not realizing its political significance, A memorandum to this effect was also being circulated. Interestingly, so concerned has been the Rao establishment over the attendance of 82 MPs at Prabhu’s house that a counter dinner meeting was being planned.

The divide between the dissidents and the Rao camp was sharply reflected at an informal lunch hosted by Ajit Jogi where V.C.Shukla and Arjun Singh did not exchange a word. The Parlia mentary Affairs Minister in fact left moments after the Human Resource Development Minister arrived at his close lieutenant’s house.

The Rao camp received another blow on Wednesday with Kerala Chief Minister K.Karunakaran cancelling a scheduled trip to the Capital. According to his supporters here, the Kerala supremo had put off the trip in view of the Prime Minister’s continuing failure to act on a large number of party matters.

Karunakaran has been consider ably embarrassed both within the party and outside after he gave repeated assurances that the Prime Minister would be revamping the party shortly.

Article extracted from this publication >>  September 3, 1993