Vajpayee readies to counter Opp move

With the Congress-sponsored no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha having suddenly charged the political atmosphere in the Capital, Prime Min...

With the Congress-sponsored no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha having suddenly charged the political atmosphere in the Capital, Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee met his senior party colleagues and NDA convenor George Fernandes this evening to draw his strategy to meet the Opposition challenge.

Though the coalition is yet to finalise its gameplan, the meeting decided to field Fernandes during the discussion. Vajpayee is planning to address all NDA MPs on Monday morning, ahead of the debate. Sources said the BJP may seek AIADMK’s support, but it could upset the DMK. The latter was already alienated from the BJP due to its flirtation with the AIADMK. The move could prove counter-productive if an extension of support by the AIADMK led to a DMK exit from the coalition.

Cong will regret moving no-confidence: Venkaiah

NEW DELHI: BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu said here on Friday that the Congress would regret having moved the motion of no-confidence against the NDA government.

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‘‘It is very much clear that the motion would meet a tragic end. The Congress will regret its decision,’’ Naidu said while talking to reporters on the sidelines of an Independence Day function at the BJP headquarters.

He also said there was nothing wrong per se about the Opposition sponsoring a no-confidence motion. ‘‘It is the right of the Opposition in a parliamentary democracy and we welcome it. At the same time, the disruption of parliamentary proceedings over the PAC not being shown a CVC report is unnecessary,’’ the BJP leader said. (ENS)

Those present at the meeting included Deputy PM L.K. Advani, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu and BJP parliamentary party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra.

‘‘The AIADMK has not approached us so far, but we may discuss it with them. We will expose all the lies and disinformation being carried out by the Congress and other Opposition parties during the course of the debate,’’ Swaraj said. When asked if Fernandes will be fielded during the debate, she said: ‘‘Fernandes will speak as he is the Defence Minister and there is no bar on his participation in the debate.’’

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While the Congress can draw satisfaction from the fact that it would force Vajpayee to speak on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report, the participation of Fernandes in the debate would undo this advantage. Being in the eye of the storm over the PAC report, it is quite natural that he defends himself. The Congress would appear unreasonable to deny this right to him.

When Fernandes speaks, the Congress would have to take resort to a walk-out during a discussion on its own motion to continue its boycott of the Defence Minister. While the Congress would get an opportunity to put the Government in the dock, it will have to hear out the Government too.

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