The Hindu : TDP to wait for PM's reply on censure motion?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 29, 2002

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TDP to wait for PM's reply on censure motion?

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD APRIL 28. The Telugu Desam president and the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, has chosen not to spell out the party stand on the censure motion against the Vajpayee Government at the Centre.

According to party sources, he may not reveal his cards until the debate on the motion on Tuesday and the Prime Minister's response to it.

Mr. Naidu addressed a meeting of the Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party (TDPP) here today and followed it up with a one-to-one interface with the MPs. Another round of meeting with senior MPs and other leaders is scheduled for Monday.

He was reportedly assured by the MPs today that there was no difference among them on the issue, in obvious reference to media reports of a possible split in the party. One view was that since voting for the motion might lead to snap elections it was better not to "rock the boat too violently".

Mr. Naidu is understood to have responded by reminding the MPs that at the call of the party patriarch, N.T. Rama Rao, 35 TDP MPs resigned from the Lok Sabha in the late 80s for the sake of "what we believe". The TDP was never afraid of elections.

He said secularism, national interests and the party's image were far more important than narrow, short-term political gains.

The TDP leadership was not interested in destabilising the Vajpayee Government. A vote for the motion should be interpreted as "demonstration of our commitment to secularism" and not a move to topple the Government.

Mr. Naidu is understood to have explained why the party had to demand the Gujarat Chief minister, Narendra Modi's resignation and oppose the move to dissolve the Gujarat Assembly and go in for elections.

The TDP extended outside support to the NDA Government on the condition that it would adhere to the NDA agenda.

Within the parliamentary party, the newcomers are reportedly not disposed towards doing anything that would embarrass the NDA Government, while the seniors insist that there should be no compromise on secularism.

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