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Sonia takes steps to bring Opposition leaders closer

By Javed M. Ansari and K.V. Prasad

NEW DELHI APRIL 15. Today's standoff with the Government saw the Opposition parties closing ranks. In a development bound to be watched with keen interest, the Leader of the Opposition, Sonia Gandhi, took the lead in reaching out to the other Opposition leaders.

Soon after the first adjournment in the Lok Sabha, Ms. Gandhi walked across to where Mulayam Singh Yadav, Deve Gowda and Somnath Chatterjee were seated and invited them for a meeting in her office. She also invited G.M. Banatwala, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi. Her gesture appeared to break the ice and even Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav, who does not share a warm relationship with her, appeared overwhelmed.

Mr. Yadav, who had studiously avoided meetings convened by Ms. Gandhi, not only went for today's meeting but also took along three of his party colleagues. Ms. Gandhi deputed one of her senior leaders to request the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief, Sharad Pawar, to attend, since he had left the House by the time she decided to call the leaders for a meeting. It is said that she is not averse to breaking the ice with the NCP leader to help pave the way for greater unity among the Opposition ranks.

Emerging from the meeting, Mr. Yadav said the entire Opposition was united on the issue, and that they would insist on a discussion inside the House on Gujarat. "It is not just a State issue; there is communal tension in the entire country. The Prime Minister has made a blatantly provocative statement in Goa. All this must be discussed in the House. We will not allow the Government to get away."

His sentiments were echoed by Mr. Chatterjee of the CPI(M), who charged the Government with adopting an "intrasient attitude and allowing the State Government to foment communal trouble". He urged the allies not to support the Government on the issue.

The Congress later claimed that the entire Opposition was united. "The Government must see the reasonableness of the demand and concede to a discussion on the issue," the party spokesperson, Jaipal Reddy, said.

Some of the Government's allies also showed signs of coming together. Today, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Janata Dal (United) and the Samata Party held informal consultations. The JD(U) leader, Devendra Prasad Yadav, and the Samata leader, Prabhunath Singh, met the TDP Parliamentary Party leader, K. Yerran Naidu. Though the exercise was of a preliminary nature, it is expected to gather momentum in the next few days once the Trinamool Congress leader, Mamata Banerjee, and others return to the capital. There is also talk of the TDP chief, Chandrababu Naidu, coming here for consultations with allies.

A section of the JD(U) and the Samata Party are upset with the stand taken by their parties. Mr. Devendra Yadav, who had demanded the removal of the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, has found support within the party.

In fact, when Mr. Chandrababu Naidu spoke to the JD(U) president, Sharad Yadav, on Sunday, to ascertain his party's stand, the latter is understood to have said that the Gujarat issue would be placed before its Parliamentary Board and that he would also have to discuss it with five Samajwadi Party rebels who were now with him.

Meanwhile, the BJP today accused the Opposition of being unconcerned over the budget and discussions related to the demands for grants for various Central Ministries. The party spokesman, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, said that instead of debating the budget and financial matters, the Opposition was trying to utilise the session to decide the fate of a Chief Minister. The Gujarat issue had already been discussed before the House had gone into recess.

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