Bihar BJP in a fix about unseating Laloo

NEW DELHI, July 5: Even as the Janata Dal formally split today, its main opponent in Bihar, the Bharatiya Janata Party, was clearly unsure ...

NEW DELHI, July 5: Even as the Janata Dal formally split today, its main opponent in Bihar, the Bharatiya Janata Party, was clearly unsure about unseating Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav through a no-confidence motion in the State Assembly.

BJP leader in the Bihar Assembly Sushil Modi refused to comment today on the likelihood of his party sponsoring such a motion, indicating a niggling doubt over whether or not they can win the numbers game in the State.

The BJP’s uncertainty appears to stem from the possibility that the Congress in the State may chip in to rescue Laloo if he falls short of the requisite majority in the Assembly.

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Realising that it may not succeed in ousting Laloo on the Floor of the House, the BJP sent a delegation headed by senior leader Atal Behari Vajpayee to President Shankar Dayal Sharma to plead for the dismissal of the Bihar government.

A memorandum submitted to Sharma claimed that there was a constitutional reakdown in the State and that the entire administration was at a standstill.

“(We) request you to kindly use your authority to save the State from the corrupt, criminal and fascist regime of Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav who today stands charge-sheeted as one of the principal accused in the fodder scam,” the memorandum stated.

Modi later told mediapersons that his party would not allow the Assembly to function when it meets on July 14. “We will not accept (Laloo Yadav) as Chief Minister. Our demand is dissolution of the House and fresh elections,” he asserted.

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At the same time, he added that his party would not accept Laloo’s request for dissolution as his Government did not have the requisite authority to take such a decision.

Modi also stressed that in case of a mid-term poll in the State, Laloo should not be permitted to continue as CM. BJP leaders admitted privately, however, that Laloo could survive the numbers test comfortably.