Congress split reports due to internal panic: Advani

NEW DELHI, Nov 5: BJP president L K Advani today indicated that reports of a possible split in the Congress at the Centre were sparked off ...

NEW DELHI, Nov 5: BJP president L K Advani today indicated that reports of a possible split in the Congress at the Centre were sparked off by the party8217;s internal panic rather than any move by the BJP to break it.

8220;The health of the Congress is so bad and the thinking and mental frame of Congressmen so depressed that these stories of a split are in circulation,8221; he told correspondents this afternoon.

He, however, did not rule out the possibility of a breakaway Congress group joining a BJP-led coalition at the Centre. But for this to happen, a group of Congress MPs would have to come out of their party first, he pointed out.

The BJP president admitted that the split in Uttar Pradesh unit of the Congress took them all by surprise. He had spoken to the BJP state leadership the day the BSP withdrew support to the Kalyan Singh Government and at that point of time, only 13 to 14 Congress MLAs were ready to cross over, he said.

The way the numbers swelled was amazing and unexpected, he disclosed. 8220;I apprehend that the Congress is going through the process of erosion but I don8217;t know how and when it will disintegrate,8221; he remarked.

He attributed the restlessness within the party to the feeling in the state units that the Congress was 8220;going downhill8221; and was not in a position to win an election. He said most of the Congress MLAs do not see any future for their party. Advani was reticent about the BJP8217;s strategy in Gujarat where there are apprehensions of a possible split in the Congress if the MLAs are not allowed to join the RJP Government.

8220;We are watching the developments closely,8221; he said, denying that Congress leader Chabildas Mehta, who is leading the demand to form a coalition with the RJP, met him or any other BJP leader when he was in Delhi over the weekend.

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Commenting on the strategy of giving outside support, Advani said that any party which did this would have to face the kind of problems worrying the Congress, both in Gujarat and at the Centre. The party has to bear the consequences of the government8217;s failures without getting any credit for its achievements, if any, he said.

Meanwhile, party spokesperson K L Sharma today said that the BJP was considering moving an adjournment motion demanding the removal of UP Governor Romesh Bhandari.