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BJP allies strike a different note
By Our Special Correspondent
While the Opposition stand articulated by the Congress, the Left, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party was known, it was the NDA allies such as the Telugu Desam Party, the Trinamool Congress, the Samata Party and the Janata Dal (United) which spoke in a voice different from that of the BJP. While the TDP emphasised on relief and rehabilitation of the riot victims and suggested that elections in the State could not be the over-riding priority, the Samata Party said that as a standard procedure, President's rule should be imposed in the States going for elections.
Much of the Opposition argument was that the situation in the State was far from normal. Many people were still in relief camps, rehabilitation work was tardy, and fear and insecurity was still prevalent among the minorities. The Opposition members wondered how free and fair polls could be conducted in the State without updating the electoral rolls, especially when several thousands had been displaced and had become victims of prolonged communal violence.
In the Lok Sabha, Basudeb Acharya of the CPI (M) initiated the discussion under a rule that does not entail voting. How could the people, especially the minorities, feel secure after the violence, he asked. The Congress leader, Priyaranjan Das Munshi, said that the electors should feel confident of exercising their franchise without fear.
The CPI (M) leader, Somnath Chatterjee, wanted to know why the polls in Gujarat were sought to be advanced. "There is a churning in Gujarat. From Gandhi to Godse to Modi. Officials are being penalised for doing their jobs. Please do not make an empire over dead bodies. The Election Commission will not fall into the trap of holding early elections.''
Prabhunath Singh (Samata Party) favoured the imposition of Article 356 in all the States where elections were due. Krishna Bose of the Trinamool Congress said that fear psychosis was still prevalent in Gujarat and the people did not want to go back to their homes. And that the conditions were not conducive for polls.
In the Rajya Sabha, the Congress leader, Pranab Mukherjee, led the Opposition charge and wondered whether the Governor had ``applied his mind'' on Mr. Modi's recommendation for dissolving the House. He also accused the BJP of having two yardsticks, one for Uttar Pradesh, where it had argued that the issue of the legislature meeting within six months did not apply to two different Assemblies, and one for Gujarat, where it was taking the contrary stand.
Arjun Singh, Congress leader, alleged that there was abdication of responsibility by those in constitutional places. Wondering if the ``constitutional coup'' carried out by the BJP in elevating L. K. Advani as the Deputy Prime Minister was part of a "grand design,'' he said "the Prime Minister is no longer the focus, he has been sidelined by a constitutional coup... is looking on helplessly.''
The Congress was not afraid of elections, he said, but criticised the attempt to ``pressure'' the Election Commission. In hindsight, it appeared that the adoption of the Opposition-sponsored motion on Gujarat in May this year was a ploy of the ruling coalition to silence the Rajya Sabha.
The CPI (M)'s Nilotpal Basu demanded why the BJP, despite its claim of having been ``accountable'' by calling for early elections, did not call a single sitting of the State Assembly since April to discuss relief and rehabilitation work.
The AIADMK took a cautious route, with V. Maitreyan saying that while it was for the people of Gujarat to have the opportunity of electing a Government of their choice, the matter should be left to the Election Commission. The party also demanded that the Centre spell out the steps taken to evolve a rehabilitation package and restore normality. The debate in the Rajya Sabha remained inconclusive.
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