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BJP will get yet another rebuff, says Opposition

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI AUG. 18. Opposition parties were aghast that the Vajpayee Government had shown scant respect for a Constitutional authority like the Election Commission by its decision to make a Presidential reference to the Supreme Court on the question of timing of the elections in Gujarat, thus dragging even the President into a needless controversy.

Both the Congress and the CPI(M) expressed confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party would get "yet another rebuff" from the highest court of the land, as in their view it was crystal clear that the Election Commission had "unfettered powers" to assess the situation on the ground and announce the election schedule accordingly.

Some Opposition leaders also pointed out that the very same Election Commission would also supervise and control the all important and crucial election process in Jammu and Kashmir, which the Government was showcasing internationally as fair and impartial. It was strange that the Government was, at the same time, indicting the same Commission for violating the Constitutional provisions and accusing it of political bias. Ironically, even as the Government today took the decision on the Presidential reference, which amounts to questioning the EC's order on Gujarat, the three-member EC left for Jammu and Kashmir to oversee preparations for polling in the State which begins on September 16.

Even within the BJP there is a section which is wary of the decision to confront the EC — the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, had himself stated in Parliament that the party would respect whatever decision the EC took and the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, had also rejected the idea of early polls in Gujarat during a debate on the subject. But it seems the pro-Modi lobby in the party got the upper hand and the mood now in the party is to confront the EC.

Of course, officially the party welcomed the Government decision. The party spokesperson, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, justified the Cabinet decision today saying that "it was the only way left for the party". Rather than move court, he said the Presidential reference was the better option as the Supreme Court's views on the interpretation of Article 174 of the Constitution (which refers to not more than six months gap between one Assembly session and another) would become available as quickly as possible. And Sunil Shastri, also party spokesperson, added that the Cabinet took the "right decision" after "due deliberations".

The BJP general secretary, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said the "Constitutional confusion" created by the EC would be cleared by a Supreme Court decision. Early elections, he said, were in the best interest of the people of Gujarat.

Kamal Nath, in-charge of Congress affairs in Gujarat, charged that "the BJP was not willing to face the reality on the ground in Gujarat nor the Constitutional reality of the EC's powers". He welcomed the Presidential reference saying the BJP and its Government would get "yet another rebuff". He pointed out that the Gujarat Government had blatantly misled the Commission, it was accountable to nobody and the Congress would press for the imposition of President's rule so that it was made accountable to Parliament.

The Congress spokesperson, Anand Sharma, described the Government decision as "an assault on the Constitutional authority and dignity of the EC" and said that if any proof was needed it was here that the BJP did not respect Constitutional institutions and authorities. The effort was to "undermine" them. It was clear that "the Cabinet has acted to help the BJP further its communal agenda and exploit the communal divide (after the riots in Gujarat) for electoral gains". His view was that the EC's powers under Article 324 to determine the date of elections was "unfettered" and it was for the EC to determine whether the situation on the ground was conducive for holding polls.

The CPI(M) politburo member, Prakash Karat, said the Government's decision was "totally unwarranted" as there was neither any Constitutional crisis nor any Constitutional problem as made out by the Cabinet. "The only problem is that the BJP wanted early elections to exploit the communal divide," Mr. Karat added. By the decision, the Government has "needlessly dragged the President into the controversy" and it has "further undermined the authority of the Election Commission".

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