As news of the removal of BJP-appointed governors trickled in, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee’s tea-party strategy failed to calm down NDA leaders. They are bent on settling scores with the UPA government in the coming Lok Sabha Budget session.Coming out of the meeting at the Speaker’s residence, Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani said: ‘‘They (the government) want to have a confrontationist attitude — the Prime Minister’s clean-chit to tainted ministers, removal of the governors and largescale transfer of officers (show that). There is no question of cooperating with this government’’.Advani — who attended the Speaker’s meeting with his party member Vijay K. Malhotra, Deputy Speaker Charanjit Atwal, Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (U) and the TDP’s Yerran Naidu — also accused the government of not wanting to sort out the situation before the parliamentary session. ‘‘It seems the government is not willing to resolve the problem,’’ he said.Refusing to disclose the NDA’s plan, Malhotra said a final decision on strategy would be taken at the NDA meeting on July 5. The NDA leaders, sources said, made the same point before the Speaker. ‘‘The government is not taking the Opposition into confidence. They are neglecting our demands. By giving clean chit to tainted minister, the PM has diminished his own image,’’ said Malhotra. However, Chatterjee seemed ‘‘quite happy with the discussions’’ he had with NDA leaders. ‘‘We’ve no problems, they are all my friends. My duty is to see that the parliamentary democracy functions properly within the House,’’ Chatterjee said. He is said to have indicated to them that he will never stand between the Opposition and the government, as far as discussion on any issue is concerned. ‘‘Let them give notice — if the issue deserves a discussion I’ll certainly allow it,’’ he said. On tainted ministers, Chatterjee said: ‘‘I neither support nor oppose the merits of the case. Neither did I appoint them, nor can I remove them.’’
