The Hindu : Allies upset over Govt. stand in court

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 14, 2002

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Allies upset over Govt. stand in court
By Our Special Correspondent

The Congress president and Leader of Opposition, Sonia Gandhi, the former Prime Minister, V.P. Singh, and actress Shabana Azmi during a march to Parliament for secularism and communal harmony on Wednesday. - PTI

NEW DELHI, MARCH 13. The Vajpayee Government's discomfiture today was complete. The Opposition spoke in unison, it attacked the Government for behaving like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's ``handmaiden'' when it pleaded in the Supreme Court for allowing ``puja'' on the acquired land in Ayodhya, while its allies and supporting parties made it known in no uncertain terms that the Government's stand was ``highly objectionable''.

But the sharp reaction from the allies led the Government to hurriedly convene a meeting of the NDA leaders where it was ``unanimously resolved'' that the ``NDA upholds the Government decision to implement the order given by the Supreme Court in respect of Ayodhya and maintain status quo in the acquired area. The NDA is confident that the Government will take all necessary steps to implement the court order in letter and in spirit.''

The ``unanimity'' of the NDA, however, did not hide the sharp differences. During the meeting, the allies were reportedly sharp in their attack on the Government. Vaiko (MDMK) is believed to have warned that the Government's stance in the court favouring `puja' could only embolden the `kar sevaks.' All allies wanted the Government to deal with the VHP in a ``stern and firm manner''.

The quarrel was not with what the court said. Its clear interim order that no `puja' or any other religious activity was to be allowed on the acquired land in Ayodhya of which the Government was statutory receiver was welcomed across the board by the Opposition parties as well as the allies (barring the Shiv Sena and the BJP).

It was the Government's attitude which came under sharp attack. The green signal for an all-out attack seemed to have been given by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu, who conveyed the TDP's view to his parliamentary party leader, Yerran Naidu. The Government's stand in the court was ``highly objectionable,'' Yerran Naidu said immediately after this telephone call from Hyderabad, and the Trinamool Party chief, Mamata Banerjee, agreed. Two National Conference MPs also called up Yerran Naidu and the impression was they shared the TDP view. An informal meeting of the allies led by the TDP some time soon is expected.

Five leaders of allied and supporting parties, Yerran Naidu (TDP), Ms. Banerjee (Trinamool), Ram Vilas Paswan (Lok Janshakti), Ajit Singh (Rashtriya Lok Dal) and S.S. Palanimanickam (DMK) jointly met the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to lodge their protest.

The Congress accused the Prime Minister of trying to attempt a ``coup against the Constitution``, while the CPI(M) said the ``Government was colluding with the VHP'' on the Ayodhya issue. The Samajwadi Party leader, Mulayam Singh Yadav, charged that the Government's conspiracy to allow `puja' had been fully exposed.

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