U.P. CM will stay: BJP

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MAY 10. The Bharatiya Janata Party maintained today that the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Ram Prakash Gupta, ``was here to stay'' and the party had neither discussed, nor was their any proposal for a change in the Uttar Pradesh leadership.

However, at the same time, senior party leaders hinted that the current ``ad hoc'' president of the state unit, Mr. Om Prakash Singh, who was brought into the job after Mr. Rajnath Singh was inducted into the Union Cabinet, was on his way out.

The organisational elections in Uttar Pradesh are expected to be completed within the next 10 days, and it seems unlikely that the present incumbent would be given the post of party president.

The party spokesperson, Mr. M Venkaiah Naidu, described as ``purely speculative'' reports that the senior leadership in Delhi was seriously thinking of replacing the U.P. Chief Minister. Yesterday's ``dinner'' gathering of U.P. MPs at the residence of the Minister for Human Resource Development, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, was also attended by the Prime Minister as well as the Home Minister. The U.P. Chief Minister was also there. But this was part of a series of dinner meetings that Central Ministers have been asked to arrange for State-wise interaction with MPs, Mr. Naidu added.

While party MPs do not hesitate to say that the BJP is facing a tough problem in U.P., and the party is not getting anywhere under Mr. Gupta's leadership, at the same time, it seems that the BJP fears a negative response from the influential traders' community if Mr. Gupta is removed as abruptly as he was brought in after Mr.Kalyan Singh was ousted.

An important meeting at the party office which was to be attended by Mr. L.K. Advani and a select few party leaders had to be cancelled today as Mr. Advani was busy in the Rajya Sabha. Although there was speculation that this meeting would have discussed the U.P. imbroglio, party sources said that U.P. was not on the agenda.

The Prime Minister is hosting a dinner for all MPs of the NDA and supporting parties at his residence tomorrow. This too is part of the ``interaction strategy'' party leaders said.

On the issue of Vananchal, a delegation of BJP MPs from Bihar met Mr. Advani to request him to speed up the bill for creation of the new State to be carved out of Bihar. This was in response to Mr Advani's statement yesterday at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting that there could be a delay in the bill related to the creation of Vananchal, while bills related to Chattisgarh, to be carved out of Madhya Pradesh, and Uttaranchal, to be carved out of Uttar Pradesh, are expected to be introduced in the Lok Sabha in this session of Parliament.

Mr. Advani is reported to have assured them that he was trying his best to get the Vananchal bill ready at the earliest.

The opinions of 15 different ministerial departments concerned have been sought on the 59 amendments suggested by the Bihar State Assembly. Changes, if any, will then have to be incorporated in the proposed bill before the Cabinet approves it for introduction in Parliament.

The delegation also met the Prime Minister to underline the importance of bringing in the Vananchal legislation as early as possible. Politically, it was important for the BJP since the party has a base in South Bihar.

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