BJP confident Rajnath Govt. will continue

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 11. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today exuded confidence over the continuation of the Rajnath Singh Government in Uttar Pradesh after he dismissed the State Energy Minister and chief of the Loktantrik Congress Party, Mr. Naresh Agrawal.

A day after the development in Lucknow, the BJP president, Mr. K. Jana Krishnamurthy, held Mr. Agrawal responsible for creating a situation which made his retention in the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet difficult.

At an informal meeting with presspersons here, Mr. Krishnamurthy said Mr. Agrawal had been criticising decisions of the State Cabinet, abandoning the principle of collective responsibility. The BJP also saw the LCP chief as failing in his duty by going on an overseas trip at a time when the State was experiencing its worst-ever power crisis.

The BJP leadership was of the opinion that apart from the inability of Mr. Agrawal in continuing in the Cabinet due to his conduct, he was cosying up to their rival, the Samajawadi Party (SP). As evidence, the BJP pointed out that after his dismissal, the first person Mr. Agrawal called on was the SP chief, Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Mr. Krishnamurthy expressed confidence that the ouster of Mr. Agrawal would not cast a shadow on the BJP-led alliance in the State and it would be able to retain power. Interestingly, he indicated the possibility of ``more friends'' joining the alliance.

The BJP chief reiterated the need for a code of conduct for NDA constituents. The alliance would decide on its applicability after the four-member committee, headed by the NDA convener, Mr. George Fernandes, submitted its report.

To a question on the Trinamool Congress, headed by Ms. Mamata Banerjee, the BJP chief said it had not yet sought re- entry into the NDA. The alliance had never shown the door to any party, he said citing the examples of Ms. Banerjee and the AIADMK chief, Ms. Jayalalithaa, who had opted out on their own accord.

In another development, Mr. Fernandes called on the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam president, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, here on Friday night. It is understood that Mr. Fernandes discussed the code of conduct that the NDA was evolving for its constituents, even though the TDP is not part of the alliance.

PTI reports:

On the re-entry of the PMK into the NDA, Mr. Krishnamurthy said, ``The PMK was present at the last meeting of the NDA. Generally, those who are not members of the NDA do not attend the meeting.''

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : Next summit likely by year-end
Next     : Woman 'fidayeen' squad in Delhi?