NEW DELHI, FEB 26: The 11-month-old Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government at the Centre earned a reprieve this evening thanks to its partners, especially the Telugu Desam Party which decided to support its motion on the imposition of President's Rule in Bihar.The TDP decision, which was formally announced in the Lok Sabha by its parliamentary party leader K Yerrannaidu, minutes before the motion was put to vote, cleared the air of uncertainty hanging over the Government. With this, the motion is likely to sail through, at least in the House of People. It is a different matter that the treasury benches are heavily outnumbered in the Rajya Sabha and the motion, if put to vote in the Upper House, is bound to be defeated.While declaring his party's position on the motion, Yerrannaidu said: ``We have decided to support the Centre's decision following increasing incidents of attacks on Dalits in Bihar.''He also said that his party, with 11 members in the House (excluding the Speaker), had decided to support the BJP-led Government to prevent the Congress from coming to power ``through the backdoor.''``The Congress party's decision not to support the resolution on Bihar is aimed at destabilising the Centre to get to power through the backdoor,'' he pointed out.The TDP leader said his party had consistently opposed the ``misuse'' of Article 356 in the interest of federalism. ``We had also opposed the move when the BJP-led Government had decided to impose Article 356 in Bihar on the earlier occasion when President had returned the Cabinet recommendation, the TDP leader said.However, the rising incidents of attacks on Dalits and large-scale massacres had forced his party to support the Government's move to dismiss the Rabri Devi government.Earlier, speaking on the motion, Defence Minister George Fernandes launched a scathing attack on the Congress for its decision to oppose the proclamation. ``It is strange that a party which changed its Chief Minister in Orissa after the killing of three Christians should remain mum on the massacre of innocent Dalits. But then we can't expect anything else from a party which made merry when thousands of Sikhs were killed on the streets of Delhi several years ago,'' he said.He also warned the political parties to be wary of the designs of the principal Opposition party. ``Speaking at the Inter-State Council meeting a few days ago, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, while supporting the idea of a strong Centre, had favoured the review of the Supreme Court verdict in the Bommai case. By doing so, the party showed its dictatorial traits,'' he asserted.While Fernandes took up cudgels on behalf of the Government, it was left to former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, veteran Communist Party of India leader Indrajit Gupta and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav to oppose the motion.Both Gupta and Chandra Shekhar said the root of the problem in Bihar lay in the clash of interests between the poor and the landless on the one hand and the landowning upper castes.``We may agree or disagree, but Laloo Prasad Yadav had come to symbolise the voice of the poor and the landless,'' Chandra Shekhar said.Supporting the motion, BSP leader Mayawati lashed out at both the Congress and the third front, accusing them of neglecting the interests of Dalits.Terming the Congress party as the ``B'' team of the BJP as both represented Manuwadi forces, she ridiculed its plea that support to the imposition of President's rule in Bihar would only strengthen communal forces and said if BJP was in power at the Centre at present, the blame for it lay solely on the Congress and the parties which had now joined hands under the banner of third front.She also rejected the plea that the Ranavir Sena was being supported by BJP. ``If this was so, why did the RJD government fail to book the culprits. It was the responsibility of the state government to track down the culprits and protect life and property of the weaker sections,'' she asserted.
