The Hindu : TDP to withdraw support?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 14, 2002

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TDP to withdraw support?

By Neena Vyas

PANAJI (Goa) APRIL 13. Senior BJP leaders here are expecting the worst — withdrawal of support by the Telugu Desam Party — to the Vajpayee Government at the Centre as early as tomorrow or ``shortly afterwards'' as a telephone call from the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to the TDP leader and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, late this evening failed to assure Mr. Vajpayee of continued support to his Government.

It seems that the TDP will not be satisfied with anything short of sacking of the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi. Mr. Naidu has already described the move to hold early elections in Gujarat as trying to "legitimise communal politics".

The telephone call to Mr. Naidu was made after a late night meeting between Mr. Vajpayee, the Union Home Minister, L.K. Advani and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Pramod Mahajan, to discuss the possible implication of withdrawal of support by the TDP to the NDA Government. No assurance was forthcoming, with Mr. Naidu promising to let the Prime Minister know of his decision tomorrow or very soon.

With Parliament opening for the second part of the budget session on April 15, any dramatic announcement tomorrow could spell the beginning of the end of the Vajpayee Government.

Firm on demand

HYDERABAD April 13. The Telugu Desam has strongly opposed the BJP decision to dissolve the Gujarat Assembly and reiterated its demand for a change of leadership in the riot-torn State.

The party politburo presided over by the Chief Minister and party president, N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Saturday night, adopted a resolution to the effect. The resolution said it was `opposed to using the noble process of elections for achieving narrow and communal ends'.

It said that secularism was a fundamental principle of the TDP and strict adherence to it was the condition for its support to the NDA alliance at the Centre. The Telugu Desam believed India was a pluralistic society and that divisive forces could not take the country forward. Blaming the Gujarat Government for `total failure' to restore peace and normality after violence broke out, it said the administration was also accused of gross partiality and even complicity in handling the law and order situation. Effective and impartial intervention could have curbed the gross human tragedy. Several impartial individuals and organisations spoke of the `lapses' of the Gujarat Government in curbing violence.

The politburo went on: ``To say that elections will be held in Gujarat to decide on this, is in our view, trying to make political capital of a human tragedy and a covert attempt to clothe narrow and partisan ends with the legitimacy of a democratic process''.

The leadership in Gujarat, it said, had lost the moral authority to govern and the devious use of the electoral process could not restore such authority. The need of the hour, it felt, was not elections, but the immediate restoration of peace and normality, providing a healing touch and instilling confidence among the public.

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