The BJP yesterday expressed its readiness to pass a vote on account during the three-day special Parliament session starting today. The party held that larger issues like the passing of the financial bill should be left to a new government.
The party stressed that it would be the new government's responsibility to transact financial matters like passing of the Union budget, as it involved major policy decisions.
The BJP's commitment to pass the vote on account came at a meeting of the party's senior leaders with speaker PA Sangma on Sunday.
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Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and the BJP's deputy Lok Sabha leader Jaswant Singh told Sangma at the meeting that in the event, whether of dissolution of the House or of the prospects for an alternate government, the Parliament can do no more than pass a necessary vote on account.
This would be the maximum that could be done even if an alternate government was not in the horizon by today, Singh told newsmen later. It would be difficult to now steer the financial bill in this extraordinary manner without even a finance minister, he said. Finance minister P Chidambaram has stated that his party, the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), was no longer a partner in a possible government, he pointed out.
Until a new government was formed, the Parliament should not be saddled with shouldering the responsibility of the consequences of the irresponsiblities of the previous government, he said.
Singh said that the Speaker broadly concurred with our view. At no point of time Sangma spoke about the finance bill, Singh said. The Speaker quoted the minutes of the all-party meeting on April 11, which also said that the agenda before the special session was passing a vote on account, Singh asserted.
Later senior BJP leaders met at Vajpayee's residence to discuss the political situation. Among those present were party president LK Advani, Sikander Bakht, Murli Manohar Joshi, Singh, Pramod Mahajan and Karia Munda.
The meeting's main agenda was the finance bill. The report of the economic committee set-up under Joshi's chairmanship could not be taken up for discussion as it was not ready. The report is likely to be ready by today. The committee was asked to suggest amendments the party should move to the finance bill.
The committee is likely to suggest major policy changes in the finance bill, if political parties today decide to bring the finance bill into the special session's agenda.
The BJP's parliamentary party is scheduled to meet today to chalk out the party's parliamentary strategy.
'Gujral elected like a managing director'
The BJP strongly criticised the manner in which the United Front elected external affairs minister IK Gujral as the Front's new leader. The party's deputy Lok Sabha leader Jaswant Singh said Gujaral has not been elected but selected like a company's managing director.
Election of a democratic leader is not done by five or six of the clique who sit and select a person, Singh said.