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BJP warns allies not to abstain

The Bharatiya Janata Party has made it clear to its partners in the ruling National Democratic Alliance that they would have to take a stand, whether for or against, on the substantive motion in the Lok Sabha on Gujarat, a senior BJP politician said.

"We have told our ruling partners that we don't want any of them to abstain," he said. "The prime minister wants them to either vote for the government or against it."

Earlier on Tuesday, Deputy Speaker P M Sayeed ruled that the crucial discussion on Gujarat would take place under Rule 184, which entails a vote, because of the extraordinary circumstances in the state.

Following the ruling, an element of desperation has crept among BJP members. It is all the more palpable because Vajpayee recently told senior Cabinet colleagues, including Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, that he would step down if the allies lack confidence in his government.

"Accordingly, they [the NDA partners] have been presented with a fait accompli wherein they either throw their lot in with the government on this crucial issue or vote against it," the BJP politician said.

Kinjarapu Yerran Naidu, leader of the Telugu Desam Party in Parliament, pointed out that they were consulting "our leader" [TDP chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu] on their course of action in the Lok Sabha. "Our party has demanded that [Gujarat] Chief Minister [Narendra] Modi should go. That is unchanged," he said.

The TDP, which has 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha and is a key supporter of the NDA, had rattled the BJP by demanding that Modi resign. A few Samata Party MPs, the Janata Dal, United, and Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Jan Shakti Party have also sought Modi's resignation and criticised the Vajpayee government and the BJP for defending him.

But with the die cast by the deputy speaker's ruling, most NDA allies have ducked out of sight. Despite their vocal assertions against Modi, most MPs do not relish the prospect of facing a mid-term election, which will become necessary if the prime minister throws in the towel.

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