Monday, Aug 18, 2003
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By Our New Delhi Bureau
Atal Behari Vajpayee sitting pretty
The fate of the Government will not be decided when the motion is voted upon on Tuesday evening as there is no doubt about its survival, but the political divide in the country will be on display as the entire debate for two days will be televised live. Tomorrow morning meetings of party leaders and whips are expected to be held by both sides to give last minute touches to their strategies before the start of Parliament and the start of the debate at noon. The Telugu Desam Party leader, Yerran Naidu, will attend the meeting to be chaired by the Prime Minister in the Central Hall of Parliament at 9.30 a.m. The Opposition, it seems, wants to set the stage for the Assembly elections in five States later this year. The no-confidence motion will come in handy as it will give it the opportunity to attack the Government, pinpoint its weaknesses, elaborate on its failures and reach the people through the televised debate. It may also help the Congress to establish that Ms. Gandhi's leadership is indeed accepted by other Opposition parties. The Congress spokesperson, Jaipal Reddy, said, "the tone of the Opposition's offensive will be set by Ms. Gandhi's speech when she moves the motion of no-confidence against the Vajpayee Government". The Lok Janshakti leader, Ramvilas Paswan, today made it clear that he would support the Congress motion and do whatever the Opposition jointly decided. Having left the NDA after the Gujarat riots he was not in a mood to look back. 
Sonia Gandhi spear heading attack
The Government will certainly use the opportunity to establish its superiority in numbers — all the NDA members have rallied behind it, including the DMK, which was reported yesterday to have expressed reservations about seeking additional support from the AIADMK. Sources close to the Prime Minister categorically said that no one from the NDA had contacted the AIADMK chief, Jayalalithaa, for her support. But reports from Chennai suggest that the AIADMK may well decide to add its strength to that of the NDA when its executive committee meets tomorrow. In fact, the Government plans not only to use the occasion to flaunt its numerical strength and showcase its achievements but also to launch a direct counter attack on Ms. Gandhi. It could try and expose the differences of opinion within the Opposition on the continuing "boycott" of the Defence Minister, George Fernandes, for he is reportedly one of the Ministers listed to speak on the no-trust motion. The Opposition is expected to take a final view on Monday morning on what it will do when Mr. Fernandes gets up to speak during the debate. An informal meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders was held here on Sunday at the residence of the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, where plans were finalised, and on the other side consultations among leaders took place at Ms. Gandhi's residence. A strategy meeting was also held at the residence of the Congress' Deputy Leader of the Lok Sabha, Shivraj Patil, where some senior party workers got together to plan for Monday. Throughout Sunday, chief whips on both the sides were busy ensuring that all their members turn up in the Lok Sabha on Monday and Tuesday. All parties across the board will issue three-line whips to ensure their members are present and vote as decided by their party leaders.
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