BJP begins talks with miffed Akalis

That the Akali Dal’s threat is not a token one was apparent today when Ajit Panja of the Trinamool Congress expressed support. Blaming the BJP’s “intransigence” on the issue, he said in Calcutta today that the Centre’s rigidity was responsible for the Akali Dal’s hard line.

Panja also echoed what has been a longstanding demand of the allies, including the Akali Dal. “The BJP hasn’t had a coordination commitee meeting in a long time. One should be heldsoon.”

Meanwhile, damage control by the BJP began with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh arriving here this evening to meet party leaders and explain his government’s position on the issue. Last month, his government had passed a resolution excluding Hardwar, but including Udham Singh Nagar in the propsed Uttaranchal state — a move that further infuriated the Akalis.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Lal Khurana, who is considered the architect of the BJP-Akali Dal accord, got in touch with Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal yesterday immediately after the Akali Dal’s threat of withdrawal.

“I have had three rounds of discussions with him since yesterday,” Khurana told The Indian Express. Admitting that the situation was indeed alarming, he said that he would convey the Akali Dal’s feelings to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee after he returned from Rajasthan this evening.

He said he was confident that a “middle path would be found,”and that he would ensure that Vajpayeemet the Akali leadership to defuse the crisis.Khurana said that he was working on various formulae but said he wouldn’t give any details until he met the Prime Minister.

Khurana was scheduled to meet the Prime Minister at 7.30 pm, but had to defer his programme after the PMO informed him that Vajpayee’s arrival had been delayed.

Khurana’s feelings were echoed by BJP president Kushabhau Thakre and vice president K L Sharma. The former, while speaking to reporters early today, said that Vajpayee or Union Home Minister L K Advani would soon initiate a dialogue with the Akali leadership to remove its “misgivings” over the Udham Singh Nagar and other issues.

Claiming that the Akali threat would soon blow over, Thakre, however, pointed out that the “majority view” of the district population was in favour of retaining its ties with the proposed state.

This view, Thakre said, was shared by the Uttar Pradesh governemt also as Udham Singh Nagar was earlier part of the Nainital district, which in turn waspart of the proposed state.

Sources in the Akali Dal, in the meanwhile, said that the party’s latest warning to the BJP on the Udham Singh Nagar issue was the result of a bitter factional strife. “Badal, who is perceived as a moderate, is getting increasingly marginalised within the party. SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra, who has been pressing for a hardline vis-a-vis the BJP, has gained the upper hand,” an Akali Dal leader said.