The Hindu : Seven BJP members in Mayawati Cabinet

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 04, 2002

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Seven BJP members in Mayawati Cabinet

By J.P. Shukla

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati, with the Governor, Vishnu Kant Shastri, after she was sworn in Lucknow on Friday. — Photo: Subir Roy

LUCKNOW May 3. A 24-member coalition Government of the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal headed by Mayawati of the BSP was installed in Uttar Pradesh today. The Governor, Vishnu Kant Shastri, administered the oath of office to the nominees at the sprawling La Martinier grounds here.

Besides the Chief Minister, Ms. Mayawati, 19 Ministers of Cabinet rank and four Ministers of State were sworn in. Eleven Cabinet Ministers and two Ministers of State belonged to the BSP, while the BJP had seven Cabinet Ministers and two Ministers of State. The Rashtriya Lok Dal, the largest partner of the BJP during the last elections, had two Ministers — both of Cabinet rank. No one from the junior partners of the BJP — Janada Dal (United), Loktantrik Congress Party and independents — could be inducted in the Ministry, which is expected to be expanded later.

The assumption of office by Ms. Mayawati for the third time sent the BSP workers, who had filled the grounds, into raptures. The BJP participation, on the other hand, appeared to be only formal. The Union Ministers, Murli Manohar Joshi and Ajit Singh, the BSP chief, Kanshiram and the State leaders of the BSP and BJP were present on the occasion.

The Opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, boycotted the ceremony in protest against the BJP's decision "to form an opportunistic alliance to come to power through the back door''.

Senior BJP leaders — Lalji Tandon, Om Prakash Singh, Ram Prakash Tripathi and Hukum Singh — were among the important Cabinet Ministers sworn in today. The party had also tried to give a balanced look to its team from the caste angle. The list of the BSP, however, included mainly loyalists of Ms. Mayawati. Two important BJP Ministers in the Rajnath Singh Government who did not find a place in the Ministry were Narendra Singh Gaur and Harish Chandra Srivastava.

Ms. Mayawati, who has indicated that she was prepared to accommodate the BJP more this time to make her coalition last at least till the next Lok Sabha elections, declared after taking the oath of office that she would work in the interest of all sections of the society without any consideration of caste or creed. However, she would take special interest in the welfare of the weaker sections, she added.

Addressing her first press conference after assuming office, Ms. Mayawati chided the Samajwadi Party and the Congress for criticising her for entering into a coalition with the BJP. She questioned the SP's intentions, saying if that party was really interested in strengthening secular forces, it should have extended unconditional support to her party to form the Government after the elections.

She said the SP and Congress were making a lot of noise over the riots in Gujarat, but it was only during the Congress rule in U.P. that Muslims had been killed in large numbers in riots at Meerut and Maliyana. During her previous tenure, the minorities had remained perfectly secure and she was determined to protect their interests this time too, she added.

In 1989, when the SP chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav, came to power with the help of the BJP, it was secular but when the BSP joined hands with the BJP, it suddenly became communal. This was a strange definition of communalism given by Mr. Singh. Ms. Mayawati said maintaining law and order and improving the finances of the State would be her top priority.

The installation of the Mayawati Government has ended the President's rule imposed in the State on February 8 last.

UNI reports:

Ms. Mayawati said she would seek legal advice on the issuance of fresh notification to initiate legal proceedings against the Union Ministers, L.K. Advani, M.M. Joshi and Uma Bharti, and 18 others in the Babri Masjid demolition case. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had dismissed the proceedings against the 21 accused in the case as the earlier notification had some flaws. While dismissing the proceedings, the court had said that the Government could issue a fresh notification.

Legal experts would be asked to offer suggestions on the issue of a fresh notification. The Government would obey the court orders and fulfil its obligations in the Ayodhya case, she said.

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