Two UP ministers resign as five are sworn in
Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow
Tuesday evening at Raj Bhavan, Lucknow.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Romesh Bhandari is about to swear in five new
ministers to the five-month old Kalyan Singh government.
A pleasant occasion, it would have been -- but for the fact
that two recently-inducted ministers had just put in
their papers.
The duo, Shivendra Singh and Yashwant Singh, both
ministers of state, quit in protest against the installation
of Jai Narain Tiwari. Like Tiwari and the rest of the new
choices, they, too, were Bahujan Samaj Party rebels, who had supported Chief Minister Kalyan Singh during
his time of need.
But ask Kalyan Singh about it, and he denies knowledge about any such happening. However, he hastens to add: "Well, if there is anything of that sort then it is an internal matter of the Jantantrik Bahujan Samaj Party. At least I have not received anybody's resignation."
Jantantrik BSP leader and Forest Minister Narendra Singh, too, chooses to dismiss the news as just 'another rumour'.
"There is absolutely no truth in this." he assures, "I have just
met Yashwant Singh in the hospital where he is undergoing
treatment. He never told me anything of this sort."
And Shivendra Singh?
"Well, I have had a talk with him as well,
and you will soon find him here," he says.
Shivendra Singh, however, fails to show up at the
swearing-in ceremony, making it amply clear as to what is happening
behind the scenes.
Earlier in the day, there was much debate over the induction of
a Muslim BSP MLA in the ministry. The legislator concerned,
Qasim Hasan, was led to believe that he would be among those
who were to be sworn in. However, his name did not make it to
the final list.
Meanwhile, Kalyan Singh is being asked whether there will be
another expansion in the near future...
"Talk about the present," he replies, "Why ask about the future,
which nobody knows?"
Perfectly true, that -- what else can be said of a government
which remains dependent on the whims and fancies of its divergent
coalition partners?
Elections '98
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