Feeling heat, Paswan drops Coal; govt barely singed

If Paswan’s move was unexpected, the President’s message was unusual, though perhaps in keeping with someone who sees himself as not a copybook President. Calling it a ‘‘crisis of our State and society’’, he said he’d been ‘‘deeply anguished and pained by the violent incidents and killings that have disturbed the peace and communal harmony in Gujarat and elsewhere’’.

He had, he said, received information about the ‘‘distressing situation of the victims’ and appealed for restoring communal harmony and called on citizens to do everything to end the violence…‘‘that continues to occur even after two months’’.

The aim, Narayanan said, was to preserve and strengthen the ‘‘foundations of our State and tradition of tolerance’’.

Earlier, the NDA held a meeting where all the constituents, barring the National Conference, said they had issued, or were in the process of issuing, whips to their members to vote against the Opposition motion. The NC later decided to abstain during voting.

Even after discounting 28 votes of the Telugu Desam Party, four of the Lok Jan Shakti, two ‘rebels’ of the JD (U) and four ‘rebels’ of the JD (Samata), the NDA hopes to get at least 286 votes on the Gujarat motion in the Lok Sabha tomorrow. This includes the Trinamool Congress’ nine votes. The 10-member AIADMK has already decided to abstain.

So, despite losing crucial votes, the government has a comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha. All the votes not going to government are not going to the Congress either.The combined Opposition cannot cross the 213 mark, according to observers.

Mamata Banerjee was tonight making a last-ditch effort to persuade Paswan not to vote against the government. She was also speaking to TDP leader K Yerran Naidu in the Central Hall of Parliament and also spoke to Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu on the phone.

She handed Yerran Naidu a copy of her party’s resolution on Gujarat and made it clear that she cannot vote against the government as there is no unanimity on the alternative. Yerran Naidu had another round of meeting with her late in the night.

The Congress also stepped up a gear, its chief whip in Lok Sabha Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi moving for an amendment in the text of the censure motion. ‘‘We are not happy with the censure motion as it stands now. That is why we brought in an amendment today which more specifically speaks about the failure of the Centre and the state government,’’ Dasmunshi said.

The amendment also seeks a voting on the censure motion before a discussion. The amendment would be taken up for consideration of the House tomorrow ahead of the discussion.