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BJP's allies itch for a showdown, to bide time

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The BJP's allies in the National Democratic Alliance will agitate openly against the Vajpayee government's stance on vital issues like the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the proposed commission for a review of the Constitution.

But non-BJP leaders in the NDA have taken a decision to wait till the impending assembly elections are over, top functionaries of the Janata Dal-United said today.

"Our party leadership has warned Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that most NDA partners are shocked at the government's silence on the BJP's statements on reconstruction of the Ram mandir in Ayodhya and its persistence on the setting up of the commission to review the Constitution," JD-U general secretaries told rediff.com.

They pointed out that the allies had warned the BJP leadership that they could not "tolerate" certain items on the BJP's agenda which would endanger the country's secular fabric and make a mockery of parliamentary democracy which had delivered the goods since Independence.

They pointed out that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta's recent statement that he would not prevent the "peaceful" attempts at the reconstruction of Ram mandir had "totally demoralised" the non-BJP allies. Some of them met and discussed that the BJP had to be "stopped in its tracks" before the minorities suffered unnecessary trauma.

The fact that the UP chief minister had termed as "peaceful" the demolition of the Babri masjid showed the "warped mindset" of Hindu chauvinists in the government. But worse was the "shameful silence" of the prime minister on the issue, the JD-U leaders pointed out, adding that the worried NDA allies would vociferously rake up the matter after the assembly polls.

The proposed government committee on the review of the Constitution was "another alarming factor" agitating the NDA allies, it was pointed out. The JD-U leaders said despite the storm of Opposition from various quarters, the government was proceeding with its avowed objectives "which would have sinister repercussions on parliamentary democracy."

They emphasised that they had sound reasons to believe that the government's determination to set up the constitutional review commission was to facilitate it to implement those measures which benefited it solely at the expense of secular and democratic norms and traditions.

They indicated that the Vajpayee government's "bull in China shop tactics" had the potential of bringing together divergent parties and groups under one umbrella to combat what they feel is the BJP's complete saffronisation programme.

It is understood that despite their political differences, some non-BJP NDA leaders have stressed on the importance of fighting what they perceive is the "saffron menace" in order preserve secularism and parliamentary democracy. It was indicated that some non-BJP NDA leaders, including defence minister George Fernandes, Sharad Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan and others were likely to meet late this week to take stock of the situation arising out of the prime minister's continuing silence on issues of national importance.

According to Congress functionaries, party chief Sonia Gandhi's arrest yesterday on her way to the prime minister's residence to present a memorandum against the Gujarat government's communal overtones has been made at a politically-ripe juncture. "We know that some NDA allies are unhappy with the BJP leaders for their recent statement and activities and if circumstances warrant, our party will join hands with like-minded parties for teaching the Vajpayee government a lesson," indicated senior party leader Oscar Fernandes.

Party spokesman Anil Shastri pointed out that "the BJP's communal designs are being felt by its allies in the ruling coalition. It is just a matter of time before they revolt against the blatant saffronisation and nobody will be surprised if like-minded parties got together to throw this communal government out of power." He said the Uttar Pradesh chief minister's "deplorable statements" pertaining to the Babri mosque demolition should be an "eye-opener" to all those who cherished democracy and secular values.

It is understood that Samajwadi Party leaders, especially party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and general secretaries Amar Singh and Ramgopal Yadav are gearing up to extract political capital out of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister's recent reference to the demolition of the Babri mosque which he described as "peaceful." Samajwadi Party sources pointed out that the party leadership would not hesitate to harness the anti-Vajpayee feelings of BJP rebel Kalyan Singh and his followers who have sworn to dislodge the prime minister from power. The sources also underscored that the Samajwadi Party leadership was considering a proposal for the re-establishment of the Third Front as a viable alternative to the Vajpayee government.

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