| NEWSNOTES Bihar: BJP has sown the wind, will reap the whirlwinds
Special Correspondent E ven though the BJP’s unabashed lust for more power has been fulfilled with the President Mr. K.R. Narayanan having signed the Proclamation for imposition of President’s Rule in Bihar on the second occasion, on February 12, the BJP-led government’s worries are far from over. The BJP might have cajoled some of its allies into accepting its term that they were required first to support the resolution on the Presidential proclamation on Bihar in the Lok Sabha these allies have let it be known that they will find it difficult to support the government in the Rajya Sabha, the Council of States. The BJP-led combine and the government are still groping in the dark although-they prefer retaining power as along as they can, in Bihar—a proposition which is even to the liking of the BJP’s hatchet man, Mr. Sunder Singh Vandari, who with his close association with the RSS in the past may have a plan to saffronise the Bihar administration placing BJP loyalists in key positions.The fascist mindset of the BJP may have lured it to make the blatant use of Article 356 and win a thin majority on the proclamation for imposition of the President’s Rule in Bihar in the Lok Sabha, the real challenge before it lies in the Rajya Sabha where the BJP is in hopeless minority and the Congress having announced its decision to oppose the Presidential proclamation and the BJP allies such as the Telugu Desam and the Akali Dali being in no mood to come to the rescue of the government again, the resolution on the Proclamation is sure to be defeated in the Rajya Sabha. The Supreme Court verdict in the S.R. Sommai case is clear that the Presidential Proclamation on imposition of President’s Rule in a State has to be ratified by both House of Parliament separately, within sixty days. As the situation stands, if the BJP does not throw the canons of democracy to the winds, it will have to get the motion ratified by both houses within the stipulated period or the proclamation will lapse automatically. Or if the BJP has any political honesty left, the government by an order revoke the Presidential proclamation right now. But saner voice are very feeble in the BJP and its government. The BJP leaders and ministers are often heard saying that all options will be explored. Mr. Ram Jeth Malani, a Minister and a prominent legal practitioner has already told a Union Cabinet meeting that there is no alternative but to revoke the President’s Rule in Bihar. Apparently, Mr. Jeth Malani’s counsel has fallen on deaf edrs. A section in the BJP wants to delay the process by taking recourse to the legal option. Delaying revocation of the order will create constitutional problems too. The Vote-on-account budget for 1999-2000 of Bihar will have to be passed by Parliament before March 31 and whatever Mr. Sunder Singh Bandari, Governor of Bihar will order, financial or otherwise, after March 31 will not have the constitutional backing. He can also not hold the Chair after April 12. His position as Governor will be untenable after April 12. There is a clear attempt to undermine constitutional institutions like Parliament especially, Rajya Sabha. The BJP has little qualms about it. The BJP government had bypassed the Rajya Sabha when they did not put the Prasar Bharati Bill for ratification in the Rajya Sabha. But in this case the Supreme Court verdict has stood in its way. The BJP leaders see themselves in a no win situation now. If the government places the resolution in the face of sure defeat in the Rajya Sabha it will only bare its political immaturity and the problems within the BJP-led combine will be highlighted with some of the allies ditching it. A few words about the use of Article 356 on State Governments controlled by the parties other the Congress in the past, will not be out of place. When regional parties were coming up and forming governments in the states the issue of Centre-State-relations assumed importance and the then Congress Government headed by Indira Gandhi was forced to set up the Sarkaria Commission following imposition of President’s rule in States on numerous occasions. The Commission was formed after several non-Congress Chief Ministers led by Jyoti Basu held several conclaves where afervent plea was made to retain the federal structure of the Indian Constitution. Degeneration has however gripped some of these leaders among whom are Dr. Farooq Badullah and Mr. Prakash Singh Badal, Mr. R.K. Hegd. Mr. N.T. Rama Rao is no more, but his successor Mr. Chandrababu Naidu has no qualms in aligning with the communal BJP. To revert to the Bihar issue. That the Ranvir Sena massacres though gruesome were only an excuse for the BJP to send back to the President for the second time its recommendations for impostion of Central rule dismissing the Rabri Devi governemnt in Bihar. The Samata Party was continuosly putting pressure on the BJP to dismiss the Rabri Devi government in Bihar and Mr. Bhandari was brought in to Bihar to achieve this purpose. And this Raniver Sena itself is a private army of the upper caste landlords, who are politically closer to the BJP too. To a section of the thinking public, the gruesome murders by the Ranvir Sen was orgnized to get the President’s approval for its proposal to impose President’s rule in Bihar. Even after imposition of President’s Rule in Bihar two separate massacress in the same Jehanabad district took place resulting in the killings of about a dozen people. But the BJP leader Mr. J.P. Mathur instead of agreeing to the failure of the President’s rule in Bihar said that the murders were an outcome of some people’s expectation of the end of the President’s Rule in the State. The occurrence of such incidents within hours of the proclamation of proclamation of President’s Rule in Bihar stresses the need for united efforts of all political parties wedded to the rule of law to come together to fight the menace. Instead, the BJP has used this as a pretext to further its parties political ends. The BJP has sown the wind and it have to reap the whirlwinds. |
