U.P. Minister sacked, LCP withdraws support

By J. P. Shukla

LUCKNOW, AUG. 10. The Uttar Pradesh Minister for Energy, Mr. Naresh Agrawal, was today dismissed from the State Council of Ministers, giving a new twist to the politics of coalition the Bharatiya Janata Party had authored four years ago in the country's most populous State. The Governor, Mr. Vishnu Kant Shastri, dismissed Mr. Agrawal on the advice of the Chief Minister, Mr. Rajnath Singh, who said Mr. Agrawal had violated the norms of constitutional propriety, ethical morality and the principle of joint responsibility of the Cabinet. Asked why he had recommended the Minister's dismissal instead of asking him to resign, Mr. Singh said he had talked to the Minister several times in the past asking him to restrain himself. The decision to recommend his dismissal followed Mr. Agrawal's outbursts in Hardwar. The statement was violative of the rules of coalition politics and government functioning, the Chief Minister said.

Mr. Agrawal, according to newspaper reports, threatened to agitate against the BJP Ministers if his own role as Energy Minister was questioned by the BJP workers. He had taken exception to his being held responsible for the deteriorating power situation in the State. ``I alone am not responsible for the power crisis. The Chief Minister is equally responsible for the grim scenario,'' he was reported to have said.

Mr. Singh hinted that the charges of corruption against Mr. Agrawal, president of the Loktantrik Congress Party and leader of the 19-member LCP group in the State Assembly, could be another reason for his dismissal. ``There are some more things about Mr. Agrawal that people of the State know well,'' he said. Asked whether the other things could be corruption, he said, ``I cannot cross the limits of propriety and would not speak in a language spoken by the leaders of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party.''

The Chief Minister also said he was not a person to work under pressure. Mr. Agrawal was in the habit of issuing threats every now and then. Such a situation was intolerable.

Mr. Singh's decision seemed to be the result of a well thought- out plan and not taken on the spur of the moment. Without going into details, he claimed that there was no danger to his Government even after the dismissal of the LCP leader. ``Just watch and see for yourself how things unfold,'' he said when asked how he would cobble together a majority in the Assembly. He only mentioned having the support of Mr. Ajit Singh's nine-member Rashtriya Lok Dal. The Governor later said he had received a letter from Mr. Agrawal intimating that the LCP had withdrawn its support to the coalition Government. However, immediately thereafter several Ministers belonging to the LCP had called on him to say that Mr. Agrawal had no authority to write such a letter. As there was a dispute over the authenticity of the letter, he would wait to confirm the actual position, the Governor said.

The Governor, however, confirmed that there was no threat to the Rajnath Singh Government as it enjoyed a majority in the Assembly even after the dismissal of Mr. Agrawal. He said he was satisfied with the figures submitted by BJP leaders about the support that the State Government enjoyed on the floor of the House.

In the LCP itself, the general opinion was said to be against Mr. Agrawal. While the Agrawal group claimed to have expelled three MLAs - Mr. Vivek Singh, Mr. Diwakar Vikram Singh and Mr. Fateh Bahadur Singh - the rivals said 15 of the 19 MLAs would support the Government, breaking all ties with the Agrawal group. Mr. Agrawal is said to have gone to New Delhi from Hardwar to chalk out the future course of action.

Today's developments have also given rise to speculation that the Assembly elections could be advanced. There are few takers for reiterations by the Chief Minister that the elections would be held only next year. Reports say the BJP leadership is toying with the idea of dissolving the Assembly by October and ordering fresh elections with Mr. Rajnath Singh as a caretaker Chief Minister.

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