Haryana — Cong, BJP want their pound of flesh

The dissidents, led by Narbir Singh and Ram Bilas Sharma of the BJP, are hammering out a formula to form the government. State Governor Mahabir Prasad is understood to have indicated that he would have to take a decision before Monday.

Ever since Chief Minister Bansi Lal’s Government lost its majority in the wake of the 13-member Congress Legislature Party withdrawing support, no other political party or a combination of parties hascome forward to stake claim.

Although Chautala today sought President K R Narayanan’s intervention for the dismissal of the "minority" Bansi Lal Government, the BJP leaders are against keeping the Assembly in suspended animation. They would like an alternative government to be formed either under a BJP leader or a dissident who can contribute 13 members of the Legislative Assembly. The strength of the INLD-BJP combine in the 89-member Assembly is 32.

If no government can be formed, Assembly elections should be held along with the Lok Sabha elections, they feel. The BJP leaders wonder why Chautala rushed to the President with a dismissal demand when no alterative government was in place.

“I have requested the President to direct the Governor to dismiss the State government immediately,” Chautala told reporters after a 20-minute meeting with Narayanan at Rashtrapati Bhawan here.

“The Congress decision has plunged Haryana into a constitutional crisis and the minority government continues to indulge inlooting the State exchequer,” he said.

Asked to comment on dissident HVP MLA Rao Narbir Singh’s claim that the Chief Minister of the alternative dispensation will be from the breakaway group of the HVP, he said, "I have always said that I will favour anybody except Bansi Lal as Chief Minister".

To a question whether the 10-member BJP would agree to support such a Government, Chautala said, "You had better ask the BJP this". On whether he would favour simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha elections with Bansi Lal as caretaker Chief Minister, he said, “Allowing him as caretaker seems impossible. Yet, we are prepared for any eventuality".

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary and the party’s Haryana affairs in-charge Pranab Mukherjee has convened a meeting of the State Congress Legislature Party at New Delhi on July 19.

There are sharp differences among Congress leaders on recommending dissolution as it could help in installing the BJP-INLD dissident government in Haryana. Most MLAs do not want electionsand the Congress letter to the Governor can only help the BJP.

They also say the party had not taken a decision on writing to the Governor to dissolve the House, and had only decided that the Congress would dissociate itself.

Meanwhile, Shamsher Singh Surjewala, a former Haryana Congress Chief said the State Assembly was the right forum to decide the issue.

He said in Hisar, “Sonia Gandhi had clearly told Bansi Lal to dissolve the House and pave the way for Assembly elections along with the Lok Sabha polls when the latter called on her on July 5. However, he betrayed the Congress.”