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PM does not rule out use of 356 in Bihar

The use of Article 356 of the Constitution against the Bihar government is being debated, and the provision will be used if the situation warrants it, Prime Minister A B Vajpayee said today.

Addressing a press conference at the Raj Bhavan in Madras, he said the provision had to be invoked keeping in mind present-day realities and not what the party had promised before or during the election.

"If the realities warrant the use of the Article even if it is against our promise... we will be frank enough to go to the people and explain," he said.

Asked about differences among the partners of the BJP-led coalition on the use of Article 356, especially the Akali Dal's opposition to invocation of the provision, he said the matter was being debated.

Vajpayee made it clear that the BJP had never said the Article would not be used. "We never ruled out the use of Article 356. What we have said was it will not be misused," he said.

He, however, declined to comment when asked about Home Minister L K Advani's assertion last night that the Article would not be used unless the government was sure of obtaining the approval of the President and the judiciary.

On the demand for overhauling the Constitution to bring in a federal set-up, the prime minister said the party had committed itself in the national agenda to a review of the Constitution."There was a proposal to set up a committee on this, but it has been delayed.... The matter will be taken up after the assembly election in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan," he said.

Asked about AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha's statement calling the Cauvery accord a fraud, Vajpayee assured the people of Tamil Nadu that their interests would be fully safeguarded by the agreement.

UNI

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