INLD, BJP demand Bansi’s sack

CHANDIGARH, JULY 15: Two of the three main opposition parties in Haryana, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and BJP, today separately met Go...

CHANDIGARH, JULY 15: Two of the three main opposition parties in Haryana, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and BJP, today separately met Governor Mahabir Prasad and demanded dismissal of the Bansi Lal Government following withdrawal of support by the Congress.

Congress, which dissociated itself from the HVP ministry following refusal of Bansi Lal to dissolve the 90-member assembly as demanded by party president Sonia Gandhi, did not make any representation before the Governor.

State unit president Bhupinder Singh Hooda would make his stand known before the media here tomorrow, a party spokesman said.

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INLD general secretary Om Parkash Chautala and senior BJP leader Ram Bilas Sharma, who led their delegations separately, later told newsmen that they had only demanded dismissal of the government.

They declined to answer questions on whether they favoured dissolution of the assembly and holding of simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha polls.

They said that future action would depend on what action the governor takes. Raj Bhawan sources said the Governor had not yet got anything in writing from the Congress about withdrawal of support.

Chief Minister Bansi Lal and other ministers, who have been avoiding the media, attended their offices as usual in the state secretariat. HVP sources said the party would neither recommend dissolution of the house nor Bansi Lal would resign as chief minister.

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Chautala and Sharma told newsmen that the Governor assured them he would act as per the constitutional provisions. “Now the ball is in the court of Raj Bhawan," they said adding, further would depend on the action taken by the Governor.

Meanwhile in New Delhi, the BJP today termed the Congress decision to withdraw support as “suicidal” and an “act in desperation” even as it ruled out any truck with the HVP.

“Congress decision to withdraw support to the Bansi Lal Government within a fortnight shows that it believes in marrying in a hurry and then repenting. It is on a suicidal path,” party vice-president K L Sharma told reporters after the inauguration of Haryana Sadan, a 29-room guest house here.

“The other proof is that the Congress is exposing its desperation and indulging in all types of political misadventures,” Sharma said, adding “Congress is losing its credibility by its own actions”.

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Asked about his party’s stand in the wake of latest development in the state, Sharma said “there is no substantial change in our stand. We are awaiting the state committee’s comment and also keeping a close watch on what the governor will be doing”.

“There is no consideration of having any truck with Bansi Lal,” he said in reply to a question.

Asked to comment on the visible crack among the left parties with the Forward Bloc and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) gradually dissociating from CPI(M) and CPI, Sharma said “national politics has taken such a crucial turn that every party has to make its position explicitly clear at both pre-election and post-election stages”. Sharma also clarified that the party would not have any truck with Janata Dal either in Karnataka or elsewhere.

“It will be a totally different issue if a few individuals from that party (Janata Dal) float something new,” he said in reply to a question.