Gearing up for the ensuing session of Parliament, the BJP here today resolved to take on the Manmohan Singh Government on the issue of the induction of tainted people in to the ministry.According to sources, the BJP leaders, who met at the residence of party president Venkaiah Naidu with former deputy prime minister L.K.Advani in the chair, agreed that there was no need for them to give any grace period to the new regime to settle down, given the vast political potential of the issue at stake.Congress spokespersons have already washed their hands of the selection of RJD ministers like Taslimuddin, arguing that they had been chosen by their party. The Left too has voiced its opposition to people with criminal background being made ministers. Therefore, the BJP is in no mood to miss this opportunity to isolate RJD within the coalition and put it on the defensive. It would dent the image of the coalition and expose a division among its partners.Having decided on this, the BJP leaders felt that they needed to draw a concerted NDA strategy to hammer the issue in Parliament. At least one NDA partner, Janata Dal (U) led by George Fernandes, is likely to be far more belligerent than the BJP over the matter due to its high stakes in Bihar. Fernandes, who had to suffer a boycott by Congress, Left and RJD in Parliament throughout his second stint in the Vajpayee Government, would not let this opportunity go waste to settle scores with the other side.All NDA MPs are likely to hold a joint meeting to elect Vajpayee as the chairperson of the entire alliance. The meeting is expected to be scheduled for June 2 or 3. Prior to this, the BJP parliamentary party would meet on June 1 to elect Vajpayee as its chairman and Advani as the leader of the party in Lok Sabha. This would enable Advani to become the Leader of the Opposition in the House. Vajpayee is tipped to don the chairmanship of the NDA outside Parliament too.
