NEW DELHI, APRIL 27: A special meeting of the Union Cabinet will be held tomorrow to discuss the ``powers of the caretaker A.B. Vajpayee government'' in the event of the Election Commission (EC) holding general elections in September.Since the Cabinet Secretariat has issued the notification that the caretaker government cannot take any major policy decisions, the BJP and its allies don't want to run a ``government in limbo for almost six months.''Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Law and Power P.R. Kumaramangalam who conveyed the Cabinet's desire to hold elections in early June to Chief Election Commissioner M.S. Gill, told The Indian Express: ``If the polls are to be held later, then new rules should be written for governing the country in such circumstances.''Kumaramangalam was deputed by the Prime Minister to meet the CEC. He, however, got the impression that the EC would be more comfortable if the polls are held in September.Though Defence Minister Geroge Fernandes also called on Gill today and pleaded for early polls, he had represented the Samata Party.It is learnt that the Cabinet Secretary and Union Home Secretary will write separately tomorrow to the EC about the government's difficulties in holding elections in September.The Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Punjab have already asked for early polls and their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh are likely to meet the EC tomorrow to plead for the same.The Union Government is of the view that if the polls are to be pushed to September, it would like to function as a full-fledged government under Article 74 of the Constitution and not under the notification issued by Cabinet Secretariat.Tomorrow's special Cabinet meeting is aimed at telling the President that either the polls be held in June or the Vajpayee government be allowed to function effectively.When asked what was the BJP's problem, if Chandra Shekhar's caretaker government had followed such norms, Kumaramangalam shot back: ``It depends on what you want to be. For us, enough is enough.''Kumaramangalam said that investment in power projects worth $8 billion had been held up in the Power ministry alone. He had directed the ministry to put on hold the opening of the tenders scheduled for April 29.He said that these could wait for two months. But if somebody wanted the caretaker government to continue for 6 months, it was not acceptable.It is also pointed out that the country has to decide on CTBT, take action on WTO and patents among other things. ``Shall we go to the President for clearance for every file ?'' said an angry minister.
