ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Don't stand on false prestige, Maran tells BJP

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam parliamentary group leader and former Union minister Murasoli Maran today said the Bharatiya Janata Party should not stand on "false prestige", but should accept "with grace" President K R Narayanan's decision to return the Cabinet's recommendation to dismiss the Rabri Devi government in Bihar.

In a letter to the President, a copy of which was released to the press in Madras, Maran congratulated him for having saved democracy and federalism and created one more healthy tradition for the young republic.

"The President has upheld what the Father of the Constitution B R Ambedkar originally thought about Article 356," he added.

Maran called Article 356 "the antithesis of democracy". The DMK wants to have it deleted from the Constitution, but until then let it remain a "dead letter" as Dr Ambedkar had wished, he said.

He recalled that when the President had sent back the Union Cabinet's recommendation to dismiss the Uttar Pradesh government, the then United Front government had accepted it with grace after a marathon discussion. At that time, the BJP leadership had rejoiced at his decision, he pointed out.

In Bhubaneswar, former Lok Sabha speaker Rabi Ray demanded the resignation of Bihar Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari, saying he had lost the confidence of the President.

Congratulating Narayanan for his decision, Ray said he had shown that he could rise above partisan considerations whenever called upon to defend the Constitution.

Former Uttar Pradesh governor and senior Congressman Motilal Vora also hailed Narayanan's decision.

Talking to reporters in Bhopal, he hoped better sense would prevail upon the BJP and it would not send the recommendation back to the President.

Congress general secretary Tariq Anwar said in Patna that if the government sent the recommendation back, it would constitute an insult to the President.

Anwar said the President had taken his decision only after consulting constitutional experts and listening to various shades of opinion. If the Cabinet makes the same recommendation again, it will be a clear sign that the BJP-led coalition has no confidence in either the President or the Constitution, he said.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report