However, the discomfort among some of them was clear even in statements of constituents like the CPI(M).
The `on-the-record' statements of all the constituents ranged from frank support to the perception that the move was inevitable. Off the record, some of their leaders felt the move was not necessary.
Even home minister Indrajit Gupta, briefing the press on behalf of the government, iterated the commitment in the common minimum programme (CMP) that Article 356 will be amended ... to prevent its misuse but added that we had no choice. We had no option left.
A senior Janata Dal leader said: The United Front government is committed to revise Article 356 and is against the use of governors as agents of the Centre. It remains to be seen how this would affect the Uttar Pradesh election; the BJP will try to generate sympathy.
The Congress, which supports the Front government from outside, saw the move as a logical conclusion of the incidents that took place on Wednesday. Party general secretary Devendra Dwivedi said: The imposition of President's rule was the only option for the government. The events in the state were a mockery of democracy.
A CPI(M) politburo statement first noted the party's opposition to imposition of President's rule: The CP(I)M had consistently opposed the invocation of Article 356 and stands for the principle of establishing majority on the floor of the house.
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Only then did it go on to say: However, the BJP bulldozed the vote in the assembly unscrupulously, violating all parliamentary norms and decency, and thereby reduced the confidence vote to a total farce ... The BJP, by this shameless conduct, has left us no alternative.
Senior Dal leader Surendra Mohan said: What has happened is most unfortunate. It has not enhanced the prestige of either side. Democracy and democratic traditions have not gained from this.
CPI national secretary M Farooqi said his party favoured the process of establishing majority on the floor of the house but the BJP misused the floor. He added that since the assembly had been kept under suspended animation, the BJP could have another chance to prove its majority on the floor of the house.
Samajwadi Party general secretary Satpal Malik said the government's decision was a welcome step as there was no alternative left. He added that political events in Gujarat gave a universal message that if the BJP leadership were sensitive enough to act judiciously, a well-knit party like the BJP would not have seen this day.
Former Prime Minis-ter and SJP leader Chan- drashekhar said the events in the past few weeks signalled that political behaviour in Gujarat had reached its nadir ... under these circumstances the Centre had very little option. The inevitable has happened.
WHAT THE LEADERS SAY
L K Advani, Bharatiya Janata Party president, described as the worst outrage committed on the constitution and democracy the dismissal of the Suresh Mehta government in Gujarat. It was an unwarranted and unfortunate development which we had been anticipating for the last one month. It has been our conviction that origins of this are in New Delhi and not elsewhere. The Congress had a role in the imposition of President's rule, he alleged.
J H Patel, Karnataka Chief Minister, summed up the situation in Gujarat as inevitable. The confidence vote was secured amidst confusion. It is unfortunate. It should not have happened. But it has become inevitable. He pointed out a Supreme Court verdict: A person who has proved majority on the floor of the assembly should not be removed under article 356 of the Constitution.
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Rajasthan Chief Minister, said theimposition of President's rule is a flagrant violation of all democratic norms and constitutional propriety. This action proves the United Front governmemt has demonstrated there is a complete mismatch between its actions and rhetoric. Never before in the history of Indian republic a state government, backed by the mandate of the people, had been treated in such a arbitrary and high-handed manner.
Ram Vilas Paswan, railway minister, said the BJP's claim of a disciplined party had been exposed and justified the dismissal of the BJP government in Gujarat. The Centre was left with no option under the present circumstances but to impose President's rule there. The Centre cannot remain a silent spectator to the whole drama in which constitutional processes are thwarted. He said the problems in Gujarat was the BJP's own making. No other political party had any role in it.
M Karunanidhi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, said The Centre had not dissolved the assembly, but only dismissed the ministry. The aggrieved party could go to a court of law to seek justice....as long as the provision of Article 356 remained in the Constitution, its application could not be avoided.
Chandra Shekhar, Samajwadi Party leader and former Prime Minister, said the inevitable has happened. Under the circumstances, the Centre had very little option. The political behaviour in the state has taken a nosedive. The most tragic part of the whole story was to parade certain views purported to be of the late speaker, who was in no position to communicate with anybody.
Rajesh Pilot, Congress leader and former internal security minister, described the Gujarat development as undemocratic. The speaker was supposed to be impartial but if politics flowed from the speaker's chair, it would be dangerous for democracy. The chair of the speaker should be like a mirror. People in the government should he held accountable till death for any action they or their officials take. rtual="/incs/right.asp"-->