The nine-month-old United Front government is likely to face its first serious crisis this session as the Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma may, by all indications, allow a discussion in the House on the conduct of the Uttar Pradesh Governor Romesh Bhandari under Rule 184 of the houses rules and procedures.
The rule requires that the debate ends with a voting and the United Front may find it hard to manage the strength to defeat the motion, given the current mood in the House on the issue. The Congress, and even the Muslim League, had supported the BJP on Monday when it raised the issue.
Sources say the motion may ultimately be defeated as the Congress and the other parties which supported the BJP move will have to vote to save the government. But since no one, except for defence minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, wants Bhandari to continue, he may ultimately be recalled. UF leaders feel a recall now would give political mileage to the BJP as the party would go to town claiming that it managed to remove the Governor.
More From This Section
The Union Government is likely to attempt to wriggle out of the controversy today by taking a strictly legal view that any ministers statement on the floor of the House represented the views of the government.
Sangma is likely to announce his decision in the House today, after which the government would be hard put to managing strength on saving the motion from being passed, according to a politician close to Sangma.
Law minister Ramakant Khalap may make the statement in the House, taking a legal view of the issue, to defend the home minister. MPs in the Lok Sabha, including those from the CPI-M had on Monday demanded that the Prime Minister himself should make a statement on the floor of the House.
The governments next step would depend on the response of the House and the opposition to the clarification.
Home minister Indrajit Gupta had sought an appointment with Prime Minister Deve Gowda yesterday, despite the two having met at the Presidents breakfast in the morning. This had led to speculation in the South Block that the septuagenarian leader might press for his perception of UP to prevail. The meeting did not take place. The two were to meet later in the evening for a cabinet meeting.
Perhaps encouraged by the cracks in the United Front over the Governor issue, the BJP yesterday toughened its stand and demanded that either the Home minister should resign or Bhandari should be recalled. Congress leader Das Munshi had already expressed a similar view on the floor of the House on Monday.
The BJP sponsored motion has got unprecedented support in the House - from a section of the Congress to the Muslim League and a good section of the ruling Front itself.
Under Rule 184, the motion is put to voting after discussion, and if passed, will have the effect of censuring the government. In case of the governments loss of face, the opposition parties are bound to demand the resignation of the United Front government.
Gupta had admitted in the House that the states law and order situation was heading towards chaos, anarchy and destruction. However, Bhandari and, later, the chief secretary, gave press statements saying that the law and order situation was satisfactory. This gave the BJP a chance to point out that the agencies of the central government were working at cross purposes.
The partys deputy Lok Sabha leader Jaswant Singh moved a fresh motion on Monday to discuss the Uttar Pradesh situation under Rule 184.
Singhs earlier motion for the same was turned down by the speaker who argued the same discussion could take place under Rule 194 which does not allow a division.