From Jal Khambata

NEW DELHI: The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party has finally resigned
to the fait accompali of revival of the Rashtriya Janata Dal
Government in Bihar, after being told by experts that there is
no legal or constitutional remedy to stop it.

BJP Vice-President Jagdish Prasad Mathur, who held the Press
briefing at the party headquarters here, was quite categorical
that "the end result of all three options is going to be the
same (parinam tino ka ek hai)." 

He said it did not matter whether the Vajpayee Government allows
the President's rule to lapse on April 11 on not being ratified
by both the Houses of Parliament within two months as mandatory
under the Constitution, or it revokes the President's rule or
the resolution for its ratification in the Rajya Sabha fails.

Mathur, however, evaded all questions on what option the
government is going to take and when will it bring the
resolution in the Rajya Sabha for resolution. "It is for the
government to decide when to bring the resolution or not to
bring it. I have no information," he sought to wriggle out and
when asked what was the party's stand, he shot back: "The BJP
will convey its view directly to the government and not through
the Press."

NEXT WEEK IN RAJYA SABHA: A BJP leader present at the Press
briefing, however, indicated that the Government was planning to
introduce the Bihar resolution in the Rajya Sabha next week,
immediately after the discussion on the motion of thanks to the
President is over.

"The Govenment is not exploring any legal recourse," Mathur said
when asked about a proposal under consideration last week to
urge the President to seek the Supreme Court's advice on the
difficulty to get the ratification from the Rajya Sabha.
Inquiries showed that the constitutional experts ruled out any
help from the Supreme Court on the basis of Justice Sawant's
particular references in the S R Bommai case.

BETRAYAL WEEK: Meanwhile, the BJP has asked all its party
offices, throughout the country, to observe "Vishwasghat Virod
Saptah" (Trust Betrayal Week) on Bihar from March 3 to expose
the Congress for its turnaround to help resurrect the same Rabri
Devi Government which it first held as losing "moral authority
to rule." The BJP has circulated a fact-sheet of talking points
for highlighting the Congress misdeed during the week.

"It is not for the first time that the Congress has changed its
stand. It had done the same on the women's reservation bill,
after agreeing first to support it in Parliament," Mathur remarked.

Meanwhile, the Congress circulated a signed statement by former
party president Sitaram Kesri, the first since he was
disgracefully removed from the presidentship, denying reports
that he was negotiating a deal with Laloo to give 40 Lok Sabha
seats out of 54 seats from Bihar to the Congress in return for
his RJD's government in the state. "The report is concocted,
false, malicious, mischevious and baseless. I had absolutely no
talk with Shri Laloo Prasad Yadav, as reported."

Meanwhile, the Congress again tried to wriggle out of remarks
made by AICC General Secretary Pranab Mukherjee in Chandigarh on
Sunday that it was up to RJD Chief Laloo Prasad Yadav to select
someone else to be the chief minister of Bihar since his wife
Rabri Devi had lost "moral authority to rule since after so many
cases of atrocities on Dalits."

GAIN OR LOSS IMMATERIAL: While the party leaders sought to plead
that Mukherjee was only giving an idea to Laloo and not a
Congress diktat since he was not the incharge general secretary
of Bihar (It is Sushil Kumar Shinde), party spokesperson Girija
Vyas was quite categorical in reiterating the party stand that
"it is none of our business or concern as to who should or
should not be the CM." She said the only Congress concern was
that the atrocities against Dalits must stop.

Asked if the Congress would pressurise the government to bring
the Bihar resolution in the Rajya Sabha without delay instead of
keeping it in abeyance, Girija said: "It is for the CWC to decide."

Reacting sharply to the BJP's call for "Vishwashghat Virodhi"
week, she said the Congress had never given a word to the
government to support the Presidential proclamation and hence
where was the question of betrayal of that trust. She said it
was the BJP which had betrayed its promise even to the judiciary
on the Babri Mosque issue.

"Ours is a principled stand and hence we don't count gain or
loss," a senior CWC member commented when asked as to what the
Congress gain from revival of the Rabri Devi Government. Girija
Vyas said the Congress opted to oppose the President's rule
since it was unconstitutional.

The Vajpayee Government was continuously trying to find fault
with all non-BJP Governments since it came to power and had even
made many attempts to clamp the President's rule under Article
356. "It got a little opportunity in Bihar and it dismissed the
government at the instance of the RSS which the Congress can
never accept," Girija Vyas said, adding that the law and order
was deteriorating in the BJP-ruled states of Gujarat, Uttar
Pradesh and Maharashtra and there were also attacks on dalits
and minorities, but they chose to attack only Bihar. END.
--------------