Govt braces for attack in House on Gujarat, drought

With the Opposition and the ruling BJP positioning themselves for a confrontation over Gujarat, there were growing signs that Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi, who called an all-party meeting over dinner this evening, may not succeed in ensuring a trouble-free session.

Joshi also met Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who is the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, to discuss orderly conduct of business in both Houses which, during the last session, couldn’t function due to the din over the The Indian Express investigation into the petrol pump scam.

After meeting Joshi, Opposition leaders said they planned to rake up Gujarat day one. Although BJP MP V K Malhotra said all parties had agreed on smooth running of the House and that the Opposition had sought time for issues to be raised by them, RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said the entire Opposition, including the Congress, had agreed to move an adjournment motion over the Gujarat issue. ‘‘Together we will bring in an adjournment motion,’’ he said.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who himself is under attack from the VHP for backing the Election Commission no-no on the Yatra, met senior party leaders today to work out a strategy for the session. Emerging from the meeting — it was attended by Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj — Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan said the Government was prepared for a discussion on all issues.

‘‘We are prepared to discuss issues ranging from Gujarat to disinvestment but it all depends on the Lok Sabha Speaker who will decide what subjects should be taken up in the House,’’ Mahajan said. Congress president Sonia Gandhi too called a meeting of party leaders who have been very vocal in attacking the BJP, maintaining there was no difference in the agenda of the BJP and VHP. Leaders of four Left parties — Ramachandran Pillai, Basudeb Acharya, Rupchand Pal and Nilotpal Basu (all CPI-M), J.Chittaranjan, Ajay Chakraborty (both CPI), Bir Singh Mahato (Forward Bloc) and Sanat Mandal (RSP) — who met today said the Gujarat elections were taking place ‘‘under the shadow of cynical attempts by the Sangh Parivar to communally vitiate the atmosphere.’’ ‘‘We have noted the statement made by the Prime Minister exhorting the need to abide by the EC’s order. But precious little has actually been done to restrain his flock in ensuring an atmosphere of amity which is so necessary for the holding of free and fair polls. The failure of the Government becomes all the more blatant in the wake of vicious attacks by the BJP and its cohorts in undermining the Constitution and the authority of independent institutions like the EC and the NHRC,’’ said the Left leaders in a joint statement.

The big casualty in all this could be the transaction of legislative business. There is a long list of pending economic legislation and it remains to be seen if the Government succeeds in securing an all-party consensus to push them through. Not many are buying the Opposition promise to cooperate with the Government on clearing the backlog. Disinvestment is another issue which the Opposition plans to exploit given the divide within the NDA. BJP’s allies Samata Party, Shiv Sena and Biju Janata Dal have gone public, seeking a review of the disinvestment policy.

The Congress plans to highlight the ‘‘confusion’’ within the ruling combine and the Left parties announced they would ‘‘surely raise the sinister attempts of the Government on disinvestment and privatisation of PSUs.’’ Sections of the BJP are also unhappy with the Kelkar Committee report on tax reforms which they fear can damage the party support base in the middle class.

The Telegu Desam Party, whose support is crucial to the Centre, is also making noises, angry with the quantum of drought assistance for Andhra Pradesh. In Hyderabad, where TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu presided over a meeting of the parliamentary party, the Rs 170-crore drought aid to the state announced by the Central Task Force was described as ‘‘most insufficient.’’

TDP spokesman and MP Umareddy Venkateswarlu said the aid was not in proportion to the severity of the drought as Rs 206 crore was allotted to Karnataka. The TDP also told the Centre in very clear terms to abide by the EC directive on Gujarat because anything contrary could ‘‘provoke communal passion.’’

On Uttar Pradesh, the party said the strength of the Mayawati government should be put to test on the floor of the Assembly.