An ill-advised move, says Cong.(I)

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 28. The Congress(I) today sharpened its attack on the Vajpayee Government's move to review the Constitution. The party's senior leaders, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee and Mr. Jaipal Reddy, saw an ulterior motive behind the move.

Mr. Reddy charged that the BJP was trying to raise basic doubts about the Constitution to bring it under a cloud.

The BJP's track record on constitutional issues does not lend credence to its claim that a review was necessary for political stability and greater federalism, he said.

``The BJP wants to stay in office to advance its agenda by installments and camouflage,'' Mr. Reddy said, even as he appealed to the Vajpayee Government to give up ``this ill- advised move''.

Mr. Mukherjee said the Congress (I) was against a fixed term for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies and also would not support a change from the present parliamentary system to a presidential form of government. The BJP-led Government was ``playing to the gallery'' by proposing a ``half-baked idea''. The proposed review commission's exercise would be futile since the Government simply does not have the required numbers in Parliament, Mr. Mukherjee.

As for the Government's argument that a review was necessary to bring about electoral reforms, tighten the Anti- Defection Act and improve Centre-State relations, all this was possible through amendments without reviewing the Constitution. Mr. Mukherjee urged the Government to spell out its objective and how it hoped to achieve it.

Questioning the Prime Minister's statement that there would be no change in the basic structure of the Constitution, Mr. Mukherjee pointed out that such a guarantee was untenable as the basic structure had not yet been codified but was still unfolding. Equally important was the fact that the present parliamentary system provided checks and balances between the legislature and executive.

A fixed term for Lok Sabha and State Assemblies would provide stability to legislative bodies but inject instability into executive bodies, he said. On his part, Mr. Reddy pointed out the contradiction in the Government's argument. On one hand, it was in favour of a presidential system, on the other, it was for greater federalism, he added.

Looking at the review move in the perspective of the BJP's ideological track record on constitutional issues, Mr Reddy pointed out that it had always pleaded for a presidential form of government even when the country enjoyed unassailable political stability. Therefore, the move did not arise out of recent political instability. ``While the Prime Minister and his cohorts may say many things to allay apprehensions, very few outside the BJP camp are impressed. So far as the BJP's allies are concerned, they are more poodles now than partners,'' Mr. Reddy said.

He pointed out that no one from the government had been able to say whether there would be any terms of reference for the review commission and ``each minister sets out his or her own issues''. In any case, the terms of reference should be decided after a discussion in Parliament. A non-representative body should not be allowed to embark on this kind of venture; it should be Parliament or a parliamentary committee. The review of the Constitution, if undertaken at all, should not be allowed to become a partisan affair, he said.

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