The Hindu : MLAs spirited away to prevent poaching

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 07, 2002

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MLAs spirited away to prevent poaching

By Mahesh Vijapurkar

MUMBAI JUNE 6. Two developments marked the political drama being enacted in Maharashtra for some days now — one, Nationalist Congress Party leaders and activists, with armed police in tow, reached a suburban club where Independent MLAs and NCP rebels are protectively housed and demanded their immediate release, charging the Opposition BJP and Shiv Sena with kidnapping some of them.

This led to a fracas and the Opposition complained to the Governor, P.C. Alexander, that it be provided neutral CRPF security.

The other development was the Congress decision to take away its flock of MLAs to Bangalore to stonewall the BJP-Sena efforts to win numerical support by poaching into the ruling party. On Wednesday, the NCP had sent away its flock by a chartered flight to Indore for the same reason, betraying the vulnerability of the NCP. Its leader, Sharad Pawar, concedes that lack of screening while picking candidates in a "hurry" for the polls in 1999 brought in "all kinds of people". "Not all, but some are prone to lure.''

The BJP-Sena had moved the new entrants to their fold to the club-like resort and Narayan Rane, former Sena Chief Minister, was also staying there when police entered the place around 6 a.m. The Shiv Sainiks, who threw a protective ring around, woke up Mr. Rane and, in his presence, sources said, "prevented the MLAs being lifted from our custody.''

The Congress used a regular commercial flight to send away some 40 MLAs to Bangalore and chartered another flight to Nagpur to pick up some more to be taken to the same destination. The Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh (Congress), when asked about the need for such a step, said: "We need to protect our interests; the means adopted by the Opposition was unexpected and intense.''

The Deputy Chief Minister, Chhagan Bhujbal (NCP), sees nothing wrong in the move. "We could have picked up their MLAs but we did not. But we want to protect our side.''

At the suburban resort, Sirish Kothwal, an NCP MLA, whose wife purportedly complained to the party and its whip, Sachin Ahir, and the youth wing chief, Jitendra Ahwad, sought police help; Mr. Ahir filed an official complaint but when police entered the resort, Mr. Kothwal said he was there with his wife's knowledge.

When the BJP-Sena delegation called on the Speaker, Arun Gujarati, to discuss the show-cause notices served to the NCP supporters following their withdrawal of support to the Democratic Front Government, they found some Congress and NCP MLAs and "workers intimidatingly loitering around'' the premises and sought their removal.

"We fear lot of violence,'' the BJP spokesman, Atul Bhatkalkar, said.

"We think live telecast of the Assembly proceedings during the trust vote would prevent any trouble,'' he added.

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