The Final Set Vajpayee govt showing signs of desperation

Political Correspondent

The inevitable is set to come upon us. The BJP-led coalition at the Centre has tottered for a long time now; a year to be precise. With the 18-party coalition bursting at its seams from the first day of governance, its problems compounded by the fact that two ladies that it has as allies having chosen to make bargaining their daily exercise, the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, is now showing major signs of desperation. The AIADMK chief, Ms Jayalalitha, has brought about a situation, taking recourse to the contentious issues of the sacking of Admiral Vishnu Bhagawat and Guruswamy resignation, in which the government has only two options; the devil and the deep, blue sea. The result in the end is obvious.Mr Vajpayee as well as his party cannot continue in Government any longer given the positions taken by the coalition allies, chief among them Jayalalitha. Mr Vajpayee’s own parliamentary minister, Mr P.Kumaramangalam, has suddenly chosen to make matters worse by criticising the AIADMK chief publicly over her demand to shift the defence minister, Mr George Fernandes; while the lady will have nothing short of only that. The scenario is thus bleak for Mr Vajpayee, caught as he has been in a typical Catch 22 situation. His defence minister is a senior member of the Cabinet and veteran, albeit tired, warhorse of many battles while the lady cannot be scoffed at and will protest, given the slightest opportunity. Mr Kumaramangalam, in his wisdom, has just added grist to the coalition shattering mill.

The Left has made its position clear. West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu as well as the CPI(M) national general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet have said that while nobody wants elections now, it is imperative that this government is shown the door immediately before it takes its final toll of the country. The ``temporary arrangement’’ being outlined by the CPI(M) is simple; the Congress should take the initiative once the government collapses on its own with the Left providing the numbers that it is short of in the event of the inevitable headcount. Mr Basu has said,``We will provide the Congress with issue based support from outside. But this government has to go as it is taking the country to doom. But we are equally sure that this has to be a temporary arrangement and that the Third Front has to be revived and made viable again.’’ Till such time that the next elections come upon the country, this sort of a temporary arrangement has to continue.

Parliament, which is now in recess, has to sit in advance, given the political games being played out in Delhi. The BJP government is sure collapse under the weight of Ms Jayalalitha and the protestations of various allies notwithstanding, it is now becoming increasingly clear that the next session of Parliament will see the farewell speech of the Prime Minister.