02-21-2007, 01:19 AM
BJP should insist that UP govt be dismissed using Article 355 of the constitution for breakdown of law and order. 356 is for failure of constitutional machinery.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->BJP steps into Congress trap
Navin Upadhyay | New Delhi
With cracks developing within the NDA on backing the Congress move to impose President's rule in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party may have stuck its neck out too far in rallying behind the sack-Mulayam exercise.
<b>By throwing its weight behind the Congress, which always treated it as untouchable, the BJP leadership stands to make a major compromise with its main political adversary in justifying an act which, in the eyes of most constitutional and legal experts, is "immoral, unethical and unconstitutional." </b>
The BJP's political campaign against the Mulayam Government and its sustained demand for its dismissal may have come handy for the Congress to exploit the situation to suit its own politics of vendetta. But by allowing the Congress to dictate terms, the BJP might have fallen into a well-laid trap.
<b>Political observers feel that the BJP leaders should not allow the Congress to justify its moral-posturing, which is driven solely by Congress president Sonia Gandhi's personal dislike of Mulayam Singh and the party's grim electoral prospects in UP in case of timely election.</b>
Observers feel that the BJP should embarrass the Congress by asking it to tender an apology to the people of UP for extending support to the Mulayam Government when it was all along propped by the same defectors, who have now been disqualified by the Supreme Court.
<b>Observors feel that the BJP is also not paying heed to apprehensions that the Congress might delay the UP election to influence the presidential polls and try to improve its own electoral chances by time-tested design of running a proxy administration through the Raj Bhavan.</b> <b>On several occasions when the Congress imposed President's rule in any State, it went in for a major bureaucratic reshuffle and brought in pliant officers to execute its political design.</b>
<b>Observors feel that by aligning itself with the Congress to dismiss the Mulayam Government, the BJP could risk the prospect of sharing a possible judicial reprimand in case if the decision was challenged in the Supreme Court.</b> <i>(lets see if BJP has enough sense to hear these observers)</i> There is a near unanimity among legal and constitutional experts that the decision would be struck down by the courts. Legal luminaries like PN Lekhi, Rajeev Dhavan, Harish Salve and Subhash Kashyap have only questioned the propriety of any such Central intervention and argued that Mulayam Singh Yadav should be allowed to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly.
Observers feel that the BJP must provide conditional support to the UPA Government in its sack-Mulayam move. The party must ask the Government to specify a time-frame for holding the Assembly election, and insist that it should be taken into confidence on the specific ground cited for imposing President's rule. The party should also ask the Congress to commit that the Assembly election will take place before the presidential elections.
Observers feel that without satisfying itself on the legal ground for dismissal, the BJP was making a big mistake in offering support to the Congress. Unless the party was satisfied that grounds cited for dismissal are legally tenable and the Congress was not going to delay the Assembly poll, the BJP should desist from such support, observers feel.
Obsevers also feel that the Congress treated the BJP as pariah when the NDA sought dismissal of Lalu Government in Bihar over complete breakdown of law and order in the State. In fact, the Congress refusal to support the ratification of the President's rule in Bihar led to revival of the Rabri Devi Government in 1998. At that time, the NDA had imposed President's rule after Sonia Gandhi herself advocated the need for such a move during a visit to Jehanabad in the wake of massacre of Dalits.
"Congress can't have the cake and eat it too," said a political observer. "The best way the BJP could extricate itself from the messy position would be to ask the Congress leadership to discuss the UP issue threadbare with it before imposing President's rule. Since the Congress needed BJP support in Parliament for ratification of the President's rule, Sonia Gandhi would have to decide whether she would sack Mulayam at the political cost of being seen as directly colluding with the BJP.
<b>Observers feel that the BJP could go back on its demand for imposition of President's rule only at a heavy political cost as it would be seen helping Mulayam Singh Yadav. But, at the same time, while providing support to the Congress, the BJP should try to protect both its image as a party that has always criticised the Congress for misuse of Article 356, and also ensure that the Congress did not use the opportunity to revive itself in UP.</b>
Sources said that there was no detailed discussion within the BJP on UP situation after the Supreme Court disqualified 13 breakaway BSP MLAs, and the party leadership acted under the misconception that the Congress was not serious about dismissing Mulayam Government.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->BJP steps into Congress trap
Navin Upadhyay | New Delhi
With cracks developing within the NDA on backing the Congress move to impose President's rule in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party may have stuck its neck out too far in rallying behind the sack-Mulayam exercise.
<b>By throwing its weight behind the Congress, which always treated it as untouchable, the BJP leadership stands to make a major compromise with its main political adversary in justifying an act which, in the eyes of most constitutional and legal experts, is "immoral, unethical and unconstitutional." </b>
The BJP's political campaign against the Mulayam Government and its sustained demand for its dismissal may have come handy for the Congress to exploit the situation to suit its own politics of vendetta. But by allowing the Congress to dictate terms, the BJP might have fallen into a well-laid trap.
<b>Political observers feel that the BJP leaders should not allow the Congress to justify its moral-posturing, which is driven solely by Congress president Sonia Gandhi's personal dislike of Mulayam Singh and the party's grim electoral prospects in UP in case of timely election.</b>
Observers feel that the BJP should embarrass the Congress by asking it to tender an apology to the people of UP for extending support to the Mulayam Government when it was all along propped by the same defectors, who have now been disqualified by the Supreme Court.
<b>Observors feel that the BJP is also not paying heed to apprehensions that the Congress might delay the UP election to influence the presidential polls and try to improve its own electoral chances by time-tested design of running a proxy administration through the Raj Bhavan.</b> <b>On several occasions when the Congress imposed President's rule in any State, it went in for a major bureaucratic reshuffle and brought in pliant officers to execute its political design.</b>
<b>Observors feel that by aligning itself with the Congress to dismiss the Mulayam Government, the BJP could risk the prospect of sharing a possible judicial reprimand in case if the decision was challenged in the Supreme Court.</b> <i>(lets see if BJP has enough sense to hear these observers)</i> There is a near unanimity among legal and constitutional experts that the decision would be struck down by the courts. Legal luminaries like PN Lekhi, Rajeev Dhavan, Harish Salve and Subhash Kashyap have only questioned the propriety of any such Central intervention and argued that Mulayam Singh Yadav should be allowed to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly.
Observers feel that the BJP must provide conditional support to the UPA Government in its sack-Mulayam move. The party must ask the Government to specify a time-frame for holding the Assembly election, and insist that it should be taken into confidence on the specific ground cited for imposing President's rule. The party should also ask the Congress to commit that the Assembly election will take place before the presidential elections.
Observers feel that without satisfying itself on the legal ground for dismissal, the BJP was making a big mistake in offering support to the Congress. Unless the party was satisfied that grounds cited for dismissal are legally tenable and the Congress was not going to delay the Assembly poll, the BJP should desist from such support, observers feel.
Obsevers also feel that the Congress treated the BJP as pariah when the NDA sought dismissal of Lalu Government in Bihar over complete breakdown of law and order in the State. In fact, the Congress refusal to support the ratification of the President's rule in Bihar led to revival of the Rabri Devi Government in 1998. At that time, the NDA had imposed President's rule after Sonia Gandhi herself advocated the need for such a move during a visit to Jehanabad in the wake of massacre of Dalits.
"Congress can't have the cake and eat it too," said a political observer. "The best way the BJP could extricate itself from the messy position would be to ask the Congress leadership to discuss the UP issue threadbare with it before imposing President's rule. Since the Congress needed BJP support in Parliament for ratification of the President's rule, Sonia Gandhi would have to decide whether she would sack Mulayam at the political cost of being seen as directly colluding with the BJP.
<b>Observers feel that the BJP could go back on its demand for imposition of President's rule only at a heavy political cost as it would be seen helping Mulayam Singh Yadav. But, at the same time, while providing support to the Congress, the BJP should try to protect both its image as a party that has always criticised the Congress for misuse of Article 356, and also ensure that the Congress did not use the opportunity to revive itself in UP.</b>
Sources said that there was no detailed discussion within the BJP on UP situation after the Supreme Court disqualified 13 breakaway BSP MLAs, and the party leadership acted under the misconception that the Congress was not serious about dismissing Mulayam Government.
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