The Hindu : Deshmukh bid to woo back PWP

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Thursday, Jun 06, 2002

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Deshmukh bid to woo back PWP

By Our Mumbai Bureau

The Maharashtra Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, with Congress leaders Shivraj Patil (extreme left) and the party observer for the State, Vayalar Ravi (extreme right) in Mumbai on Wednesday in a bid to sort out the crisis to his Government. — Photo: Vivek Bendre.

MUMBAI JUNE 5. With the Nationalist Congress Party having more or less burnt its bridges with the Peasants & Workers Party, the Maharashtra Chief Minister, Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh, met the former ally here today on behalf of the entire ruling combine and sought support for the confidence vote he proposes to seek on June 12 or 13. He returned with an assurance that the CPI(M) and the PWP which have withdrawn support to his Government would not vote with the Opposition BJP and Shiv Sena.

In what is a possibly significant backward step, the PWP spoke today of "only two possibilities before us: abstain during the vote of confidence or vote for it.'' A final decision would be taken by the PWP leadership close to the time the vote is taken. The expectation is that it would vote positively, to keep the BJP-Sena at bay.

Though the NCP kept out of formal talks with the PWP, it is gratified at what it says is the "positive stand of the CPI(M) national leadership to vote for the confidence motion'' but later oppose the Government on issues as it has always done even when it was a member of the coalition but without a seat in the ministry. The NCP's expectation is that the PWP would follow suit "for the good of us all.'' The NCP was willing to bring the PWP back into the Government.

Another significant development was that the NCP initiated proceedings against four MLAs who "withdrew support'' when they met the Governor, P. C. Alexander ,yesterday. Of the four who "migrated to the Opposition from the NCP'' yesterday, V. Kore returned to the fold "by withdrawing his letter of yesterday,'' the NCP leader, Sharad Pawar, said but the BJP's Gopinath Munde claimed that "despite this withdrawal of yesterday's contention, we have the man in our custody now. What matters is the presence of the person with us.'' The NCP conceded that yet another MLA, Sirish Kothwal, had left the party.

Among the offers being made to the PWP is the dropping from the ministry of Sunil Tatkare, whose reinduction some days ago led to the crisis: the Left parties quitting the ruling coalition, the Janata Dal splitting and as many as four legislators of the NCP announcing withdrawal of their support to the Government even at the risk of inviting action under the anti-defection law.

Mr. Tatkare invited the ire of the PWP by preventing the latter from capturing the district council of its home turf, Raigad. He had acted n collaboration with the Shiv Sena. His return to the ministry was strongly resented. Both the CPI(M) which had withdrawn its support earlier and the PWP accused the Congress and the NCP of being `pseudo-secular'.

Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh belittled the allegation and said that his party was secular to the core and that the wrong impression was created by some local adjustments reached "without our knowledge.'' He said no local unit of the Congress had been permitted to have any truck with the Shiv Sena-BJP.

The NCP held out a threat of initiating proceedings under the anti-defection law against its MLAs for announcing withdrawal of support. The Deputy Chief Minister, Chagan Bhujbal, said that the Shiv Sena-BJP which enticed the NCP legislators had not given them any idea about the full scope of the anti-defection law. There is a likelihood of them being disqualified to contest the election for six years, he said.

Political analysts said that the NCP aims to prevent more such cases. The party president, Sharad Pawar, had to personally talk to the legislators to keep the flock together. The Congress fielded its observer for Maharashtra, Vayalar Ravi, and the former Lok Sabha Speaker, Shivraj Patil,to ensure that its legislators did not lose their nerve.

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Deshmukh bid to woo back PWP