Front denies entry to RJD men

The three ministers are in all likelihood going to tender their resignation from the Government tomorrow.

A decision to this effect, highly placed sources said, was taken by the RJD MPs in consultation with their party chief Laloo Prasad Yadav, who is learnt to have advised the three Union Ministers — Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Kanti Singh and Jai Narayan Prasad Nishad — to step down rather than face the ignominious situation. A formal announcement is likely to be made at a press conference.

Front leaders made it clear by the decision that there could be no compromise on the issue of corruption. The hopes of the Congress party which was banking on cracks within the UF, were also dashed to the ground.It is a victory for former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, CPM general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet, Janata Dal president Sharad Yadav and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav who convinced the committee that RJD’s continuance in the UF would lead to its weakening rather than the exit.

However, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s suggestion that in the larger interest of the Front, the issue of the three ministers should be taken up at a later date was accepted. To be fair to TMC leader G K Moopanar, he did not support Laloo either on the issue.

It was decided that Karunanidhi and Surjeet would sit together to thrash out the issue of three ministers before the next meeting of the standing committee on July 25. But Karunanidhi left for Chennai in the state aircraft due to exigencies in his state.

In fact, it was the DMK supremo’s statement at the meeting that he never supported the Bihar Chief Minister on the issue of corruption which clinched near unanimity on the subject. He explained that his statement in Chennai had been misinterpreted. He had only expressed his concern over the happenings in the Front and wanted that issues be sorted out to the satisfaction of all and it gave the impression as if one constituent was running the government.

At this juncture, Deve Gowda said he had always tried to help the UF and never interfered in its functioning. However, there could be no compromise on principles.

The Sikkim Democratic Front was tonight admitted into the UF raising the number of its constitutents to fourteen. The SDF has one MP in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha.

The standing committee also dealt at length on the question of selecting a candidate for the post of Vice-President and decided that it must hold consultations with the Congress in this regard. Inder Kumar Gujral, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and other Front leaders would interact with the Congress in this regard and report to the committee on July 25.

Announcing the decision after the meeting, U F spokesman S Jaipal Reddy said all decisions were taken on the basis of consensus and none dissented.

Let courts decide Laloo’s fate: Gujral

Prime Minister, I K Gujral, has said that the courts should be left to decide Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav’s alleged involvement in the fodder scam case.

In an interview to a Mumbai weekly, Gujral parried questions on whether he had thought of dismissing the Laloo Ministry after publicly airing views that on moral grounds and those of probity the Bihar Chief Minister should have resigned.

“The next possible step is to ask for his (Laloo’s) dismissal. If I dismiss him… fifteen minutes from now a delegation from Bombay is coming. They want the Maharashtra Government to be dismissed. Yesterday I was in Punjab. The Congress wants the Badal Government to be dismissed”,he said adding that democracy had its own way of sorting things out.

To a question whether he could be described as a Prime Minister who only sent messages (his public statement indirectly suggesting the Chief Minister to step down) Gujral said “No prime minister will directly talk and ask for something and in case that advice is rejected, then not move firmly. That stage has not come. Secondly in Laloo’s case, the court is in the picture. Let it decide”.Repeatedly questioned about his view on dismissal of Laloo’s Government Gujral countered, “Let somebody have the courage to say that I should use Article 356. How do you dismiss him?”.

“I ask you a counter-question: Does the nation want Centre to use Article 356,” the Prime Minister said, adding that there was no consensus on the use of Article 356. “In my United Front, I have ten Chief Ministers… and each one of them has publicly said don’t t use Article 356”, the Prime Minister said adding that “It is good if they (constituents) did not, though unfortunately they did”.