Akali threat may force BJP to reconsider merger of Udham Singh Nagar in Uttaranchal
George Iype in New Delhi
Still striving to come to terms with the setback it received on axing the Bihar government, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition has found itself in the midst of yet another controversy over the creation of the new state of Uttarakhand.
With a key ally, the Akali Dal, threatening to withdraw support to the coalition, BJP sources said the only way the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government can wriggle out of the crisis is to
avoid discussing and passing the statehood bills in the winter session of Parliament in November.
"It would be wise and better for the government to postpone the decision to carve out the controversial states like Uttaranchal and Vananchal as it affects the coalition's
survival," a BJP strategist felt.
Though Akali leaders have been opposing the inclusion of Udham Singh Nagar district of the Terai region in the proposed Uttarakhand state, the Uttar Pradesh assembly passed the Uttarakhand Bill last fortnight, paving the way for the new state's creation.
What angered the Akali Dal is the state BJP government's decision to exclude Hardwar from the proposed state, much to the annoyance of the hill people.
While the Kalyan Singh government is beginning to feel the heat for including Udham Singh Nagar and excluding Hardwar in the new state, the Vajpayee government has begun
tackling the crisis arising out of the Akali Dal's threat to withdraw support to the coalition over the Uttarakhand issue.
In the last few weeks, relations between Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and his allies like the Loktantrik Congress Party, the Jantantrik Bahujan Samaj
Party and the Janata Dal (Rajaram) have not been smooth as these allies have protested against what they call is the big brother attitude being adopted by the BJP.
Official sources said that Prime Minister Vajpayee and Home Minister Lal Kishinchand Advani will soon meet senior Akali leaders, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and
Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra to settle
the row amicably.
Despite their repeated requests, the Akali leaders say, Vajpayee and Advani have kept mum on the issue, choosing to include Udham Singh Nagar in the
proposed hill state of Uttaranchal.
BJP vice-president Jai Prakash Mathur said the Vajpayee government has never tried "to overlook and bypass its allies in the past six months." "Therefore, the Akali Dal's
demand to exclude Udham Singh Nagar will be discussed in the appropriate party forum and among the government alliance partners," he told Rediff On The NeT.
He said it is likely that the prime minister will soon convene a coordination committee meeting of the BJP's partners in an attempt to discuss and debate issues like the
creation of new states. "But it is up to the prime minister to decide when the meeting will be called," Mathur added.
Many believe the prime minister will convene the meeting soon as the Akali Dal has announced that it is chalking out the formalities of withdrawing support with regional parties like the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham, the Trinamul Congress and the Rashtriya
Lok Dal.
Most political parties in Punjab argue that the yardstick of reorganising and creating new states on the basis of language, culture and social traditions does not apply in the case of Udham Singh Nagar district as its people have nothing in common with the hill people.
Already, nearly 85 per cent of village panchayats in the district have submitted written memoranda to the prime minister and President K R Narayanan opposing the union of Udham Singh Nagar with Uttranchal.
While Advani is now negotiating with the Akali leaders to settle the controversial issue, many believe the BJP leadership will now probably reconsider the merger of Udham Singh Nagar in Uttaranchal for political reasons.
Some senior BJP leaders have advised the prime minister and home minister to give up merging Udham Singh Nagar with Uttaranchal as it would ruin a party stronghold.
They feel that any decision to merge the two will result in hostility to the BJP among the locals.
While the BJP leadership is still ambivalent about the Uttaranchal issue, the Vajpayee government is also facing stiff opposition from Laloo Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya
Janata Dal to carve out a Vananchal state from Bihar.
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