Beleaguered PM gets reprieve with Laloo’s resignation

The PM was clear that if he used Article 356 in Bihar, he would be opening a Pandora’s box. The Samajwadi Party has been demanding the dismissal of Mayawati’s government in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress is breathing down Gujral’s neck for sacking the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra. Even as news of Laloo’s resignation came, Congress’ parliamentary wing was giving final touches to its strategy for intensifying its demand for the imposition of President’s rule in the State.

The Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) warrant of arrest against Laloo today has also helped Gujral affirm his bonafides vis-a-vis the CBI, which had got dented with his removal of Joginder Singh.

The resignation has come not a moment too soon for a beleaguered PM, as l’affaire Laloo had threatened to split the UF and could have jeopardised his government.

However, Gujral’s troubles are far from over. The issue of the induction of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the UF is not yet settled. The Left parties made it clear on Friday that they are not for its entry in the Front. They dub Laloo’s action as one which came too late. His appointment of his wife as his successor, which has made a mockery of democratic functioning, is not going to help his case either.

The RJD issue is no longer important to the Gujral government. But in the larger fight that is on between Sitaram Kesri interested in a Congress led coalition at the centre and the Left parties, it has all the potential of becoming a major plank of contention. Kesri’s plan to recapture power can be put into motion only if the Left goes out of the UF. And the RJD’s entry, which is still being argued by some of the southern satraps and opposed by the Left, may just turn out to be the issue Kesri is looking for.

As for Laloo, what finally prompted him to quit was his political isolation, and this was evident in Parliament. With the PM announcing in the Lok Sabha yesterday that he had urged the Bihar leader privately and publicly to quit, and Kesri who bailed out his government in Bihar recently also speaking in a similar vein, he realised that the tide was turning against him. The High Court’s refusal to grant him anticipatory bail came as the last straw today.

Laloo also sensed the mood that was gaining ground within his own party and he probably preempted a possible split by resigning. The maverick leader continuing as CM was becoming unacceptable even to some of his colleagues.

He may also have hoped that if he made an exit now, the RJD ministers may be able to continue in the UF and this might increase his staying power in Bihar. Besides, then he would have to contend only with the attack from the Bharatiya Janata Party-Samata Party leaders and not from the secular forces.