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NDA divided on President's rule in Tamil Nadu

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The co-ordination committee of the National Democratic Alliance was divided on Monday on the issue of imposing President's rule in Tamil Nadu, though a majority wanted 'stern action' to be taken against those who had allegedly perpetrated atrocities on Union ministers Murasoli Maran and T R Baalu.

NDA convener George Fernandes told reporters after the co-ordination committee's meeting at the prime minister's residence that various views were expressed on the action to be taken in Tamil Nadu. But "everyone was of the view that exemplary and stern action has to be taken against those who were responsible for maltreating and inflicting torture on the two central ministers", he said.

"There was a felt demand that this is a matter where Article 356 has to be considered," the NDA convener added.

Fernandes said the three-member NDA delegation that was led by him and visited Tamil Nadu on Sunday submitted its report to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Monday. Vajpayee then circulated the report among the other NDA constituents.

The other two members of the delegation were Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra and Shiromani Akali Dal politician and Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.

Fernandes said the Union Cabinet would be meeting on Tuesday where some crucial decisions were likely to be taken.

He said the release of the two central ministers was not enough because the cases slapped on them by the state government have not been withdrawn.

He also pointed out that contrary to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's charge, DMK chief M Karunanidhi had not given the contracts for building flyovers in Madras because that was the job of the city corporation, not the chief minister.

"Jayalalithaa has not deviated from the path of violence and injustice," he remarked. "But she did not expect the adverse reaction which was triggered by her deplorable actions against the DMK leaders."

Earlier, Law and Justice Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters that the Tamil Nadu government's actions had convinced the NDA that some sort of mechanism ought to be devised to prevent the breakdown of the constitutional machinery in the states and preserve the federal polity.

He pointed out that this was a sensitive issue that had been exercising the NDA since the "deplorable act" of the Tamil Nadu government.

Asked whether such a mechanism was in the offing, the law minister said, "Let us wait and see what happens in the Cabinet meeting tomorrow."

Among those who attended the NDA meeting were senior BJP leaders Sikandar Bakht, Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh, Jaitley and Malhotra, the Biju Janata Dal's Arjun Charan Das, the DMK's T N Shiva and Samata Party's Nitish Kumar.

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