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U.P. Governor not partisan: Advani

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI NOV. 28. Turning down an Opposition demand in the Lok Sabha for a Central directive to the Uttar Pradesh Governor to convene a special session of the Assembly for testing the strength of the Mayawati Government, the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, today gave a "clean chit" to the Governor.

Replying to a special discussion on the recent political developments in U.P., Mr. Advani asserted that the Governor, Vishnu Kant Shastri, had committed "no wrong and conducted himself as per the best traditions of the Constitution''. The discussion was initiated by the Samajwadi Party leader, Mulayam Singh Yadav, on Tuesday.

"As per my understanding of the Constitution and pronouncements of the Supreme Court, the Centre has no power to give any directive to the Governor,'' Mr. Advani said. He also brushed aside Opposition criticism that the Governor was "partisan'' in protecting the BSP-BJP coalition Government in U.P.

Quoting from the S.R. Bommai case judgment, Mr. Advani said the Governor should be left free to deal with the situation as per his best judgment keeping in view the Constitution and conventions of the Parliamentary system. Although the thin attendance in the Opposition benches indicated a lack of interest in the discussions, almost the entire Opposition was dissatisfied with Mr. Advani's reply and staged a walkout. Its members protested "misuse of power'' by the Centre under the Constitution and accused it of "pressuring'' the Governor not to convene a session of the Assembly for a trial of strength. But Mr. Advani said the Governor was "a dignified person who has been conducting himself in accordance with provisions of the Constitution. He has committed no wrong so far''.

Mr. Yadav said his party, along with the Congress and other supporting MLAs, had submitted to the Governor a list of 204 legislators in the 403-member Assembly to prove that the Mayawati Ministry was in a minority. The list included 23 members of the Congress which the party had so far not denied.

The CPI(M) leader, Somnath Chatterjee, and the Congress chief whip, Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, said that Mr. Advani had "deliberately'' avoided saying what the Governor should do at a time when the State was facing a political crisis.

Mr. Chatterjee sought to know why another opportunity was not being given to the MLAs in U.P. for a trial of strength on the floor of the Assembly. Citing the Bommai case judgment and the Sarkaria Commission report on Centre-State relations, Mr. Advani said the floor test was only one of the considerations which the Governor should keep in mind but his decision depended on the prevailing situation.

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