NEW DELHI: The 11month old National Front government, headed by Vishwanath Pratap Singh, has moved from crisis to crisis since it came to power after the November 1989 Lok Sabha Poll.
Mr Singh formed a minority government with the left parties and Bhartiya Janata Party supporting it form outside.
With the BJP withdrawing support following the arrest of BJP leader L K Advani in Samastipur early Tuesday, the National Front government lost its majority backing. Here is the sequence of events.
December 2, 1989: Front government assumes office with V P Singh as prime minister and Devi Lal as deputy prime minister. The same day Devi Lal’s son, Om Prakash Chautala is elected Chief Minister of Haryana.
February End 1990: Widespread violence during the Meham by election in Haryana. Janata Dal requests election commission to order repoll in Meham.
Mid-March: Devi Lal resigns plunging the three month old front government into crisis. Two days later he withdraws it on the persuasion of chief ministers of Janata Dal ruled states.
April: Election commission countermands February 27 by elections in Meham,
May End: Following furore in Parliament over the Meham violence, Chautala resigns as chief minister, paving the way for election of B.D. Gupta. Election commission again countermands Meham by election, following the demise of an independent candidate. Chautala is also a candidate for the seat.
Sep 25: The BJP chief, L K Advani begins his Rath Yatra from Somnath Temple in Gujarat for Construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Meanwhile, various political parties urge Mr Advani to call off Yatra.
Oct 19: The president promulgates ordinance to acquire the disputed land in Ayodhya as part of bid to defuse tension. This and the three point formula rejected by Muslim leaders who ask the government to withdraw the ordiance.
Oct 21: The ordiance is withdrawn.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 2, 1990
