Opinion - Letters to the Editor

The U.P. crisis

The disqualification of the 13 MLAs who originally belonged to the Bahujan Samaj Party and extended support to Mulayam Singh (they later formed the Loktantrik Bahujan Dal with 24 other MLAs) has given an excuse to the Congress to launch a campaign to dismiss the Uttar Pradesh Government.

The party which ran the Central Government under P.V. Narasimha Rao for five years by orchestrating defections and bribing MPs is now worried about horse-trading in Uttar Pradesh. Clearly, its real agenda is to control the State Government during the coming elections. Even if Mr. Mulayam Singh has abused the Constitution, the remedy does not lie in counter abuse.

R.V. Chandramouli,
Chennai

The editorial "Desist from Article 356 fraud" and the article "Who is the guilty party in Uttar Pradesh?" (Feb. 19) rightly argue that invoking Article 356 to dislodge the Mulayam Singh Government is unwise. The Congress should think twice before taking such a drastic step that some of its allies in the UPA Government are opposing. The party does not seem to have learnt from its past experience because of which it has lost heavily not only in several States but also at the Centre, resulting in its dependence on coalition partners for support.

The contention that Mr. Singh should have resigned cannot be brushed aside. But in the present scenario, the prudent thing to do is to allow him to prove his strength on the floor of the House.

V. Pandy,
Tuticorin

All political parties are birds of the same feather. Mr. Mulayam Singh formed the Government in 2003 with the BJP's blessings. Even the lesser players in U.P. politics such as the RLD and the Congress supported him for they did not want a BJP government in the State.

The Congress that now accuses the Mulayam Singh Government of being unconstitutional should come clean on why it supported an unconstitutional government, thereby committing an unconstitutional act. Though there is some truth in the apprehensions over the possibility of a fair election under the present regime, it would be better to evolve a consensus on the imposition of President's Rule.

Siddhartha Shukla,
Hyderabad

The Congress' moves smack of arrogance and scant regard for democratic norms. The Supreme Court has only disqualified the 13 BSP MLAs who defected.

It does not automatically follow that the Mulayam Singh Government has lost its majority. The issue can be decided only on the floor of the House.

K.V. Rajasekhar,
Neyveli

By cautioning the Congress against imposing Article 356 in Uttar Pradesh and by demanding an amendment to the obnoxious statute, the CPI (M) has once again vindicated its watchdog role.

It is time the office of the Governor was dispensed with.

Syed Sultan Mohiddin,
Kadapa

Gone are the days when the Congress could misuse Article 356 with impunity for its partisan purposes in utter disregard of constitutional propriety.

It is time the party stopped pretending not to have realised that the floor of the State Assembly is the constitutionally permitted arena for testing the claims and counter-claims of a majority, not any private hall of the Delhi Durbar.

S. Balu,
Madurai

The Congress' suicidal instincts are in full play. Its over-interpretation of the apex court's ruling can only play into the hands of the BJP, which will benefit from the resultant confusion created in the minds of the people and compounded by the misrule of the Mulayam Singh Government. The Centre would be doing a great service to the nation by desisting from the temptation to fraudulently foist President's Rule in U.P.

Kasim Sait,
Chennai

Once again Uttar Pradesh has occupied centre stage, displaying the dirty politics played by all political majors. The Centre should be condemned for its unconstitutional intent to impose President's Rule in haste. Of course, the ruling Samajwadi Party deserves to be criticised for the instability it has created. With such a climate prevailing in the State, one wonders how free and fair the coming elections to the Assembly will be.

B. Jayanna Krupakar,
Mangalore

The argument that a floor test is the only solution to the crisis is unacceptable. The 13 MLAs have been disqualified with retrospective effect, rendering all their votes in the past null and void. The Supreme Court has also held that a split cannot be a continuous process. This, by implication, disqualifies the other 24 defectors also. This is certainly an extraordinary situation that needs an extraordinary solution.

P.P. Sudhakaran,
Bangalore

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