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Vajpayee heeds Cabinet advice, cancels Art 356 in Bihar

George Iype in New Delhi

Faced with defeat in the Rajya Sabha and forced by a strident Congress and demanding coalition partners, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government on Monday decided to revoke the Presidential proclamation imposing central rule in Bihar.

It is the first instance of a central government having been forced to withdraw the imposition of Article 356 of the Constitution.

The government's decision on Bihar will lead to the restoration of the status quo ante, in other words the reinstatement of the Rabri Devi government which was dismissed on February 11.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government finally threw in the towel on Bihar by giving up the move to push through the statutory resolution in the Upper House where it is in a minority.

After Prime Minister Vajpayee's unsuccessful meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday, the Union Cabinet met on Monday morning before Parliament commenced and decided to reinstall the Rabri Devi regime in Bihar.

Officials said the Cabinet discussed a home ministry recommendation, which suggested the revocation of President's rule and the reinstatement of the Rashtriya Janata Dal government in Bihar as the best course of action.

Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani, who held a marathon meeting with senior party leaders including BJP president Shashikant 'Kushabhau' Thakre on Sunday, informed their Cabinet colleagues that the government was left with no option but to revive the Bihar assembly.

Vajpayee also spoke to Bihar Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari, requesting him to continue in office despite mounting pressure that the Congress-RJD combine would exert on him to quit.

All the Cabinet members except Samata Party president and Defence Minister George Fernandes agreed to the proposal. Fernandes felt the best strategy was to politically defeat the Congress by presenting the Bihar resolution in the Upper House.

But the majority opinion within the Cabinet was that if the government went on prolonging any decision on Bihar, it would put the Budget session in disarray. Moreover, the government did not want to keep the Bihar assembly in suspended animation when the Vajpayee coalition was in a hopeless minority in the Rajya Sabha.

The Cabinet also debated if the government should file a writ petition in the Supreme Court for a new interpretation of the S R Bommai judgment on imposing President's rule in states.

Official sources said both Vajpayee and Advani were not in favour of going to court as they felt any rejection of the writ petition by the apex court would considerably embarrass the government at this juncture.

BJP leaders, who have been tackling the Bihar issue for the past month, said more than anything else, the prime minister took into serious consideration the strident demand from some of the coalition partners that the government should nullify the Presidential proclamation.

TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu agreed to bail out the government in the Lok Sabha after Vajpayee assured him that Cabinet would revoke central rule if it failed to get the Congress's support in the Upper House.

Naidu and the BJP's other allies like the Akali Dal and Trinamul Congress had been insisting that the government immediately withdraw the Bihar resolution, as the issue was becoming politically embarrassing for the government.

One BJP leader pointed out that by agreeing to the allies's demand, Vajpayee has made it very clear that he does not want to overrule their views in taking crucial governmental decisions.

BJP leaders and government managers immediately claimed the month-long debate on central rule in Bihar has helped them accrue political mileage at the expense of the Congress party.

"From day one, we had insisted that we need the Congress's support to pass the Bihar resolution in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress initially agreed, but changed track. Therefore, it is not we, but the Congress which has lost credibility on the Bihar issue," BJP vice-president J P Mathur told Rediff On The NeT.

He claimed the Bihar crisis is not over. "The Vajpayee government has made its point that the law and order situation in Bihar is at such pathetic levels that President's rule was the only option. We are now keenly awaiting how long the Congress will go on supporting Laloo Prasad Yadav," Mathur added.

EARLIER COLUMNS/REPORT:
People are fed up with Laloo Yadav!
Bofors and Bihar
BJP tells government to table Bihar resolution in Rajya Sabha

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