Defer Deputy Speaker's poll
Mamata presses for consensus
Tribune New Service

NEW DELHI, Aug 2 — In a deft move, the Trinamool Congress today urged the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress to withdraw their respective candidates for the post of Deputy Speaker and pressed for postponement of the August 4 election with a view to evolving a consensus on the issue.

Addressing newspersons, the Trinamool leader, Ms Mamata Banerjee, said she has conveyed her views on the Deputy Speaker’s issue both to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Congress leaders, Mr P.A. Sangma and Mr Santosh Mohan Deb. The Lok Sabha should not be divided on the issue, she said. "I have told both the parties to work for a consensus", she said.

According to the schedule of the Deputy Speaker’s election, the nominations have to be filed tomorrow. The election, if needed, has to take place on August 4.

While the Congress has nominated the veteran parliamentarian, Mr P.M. Sayeed,who has also been promised support by the Left parties, and the Janata Dal and other Opposition parties, the ruling BJP combine has fielded three time Lok Sabha MP from Dhanbad in Bihar, Mrs Rita Verma for the post.

"If the Congress withdraws its candidate, then I will convince the Prime Minister. He is sensible. He is not rigid", Ms Banerjee said.

Claiming that her party has the support of five North-east MPs on the issue, the Trinamool leader said: "We do not want the government to be toppled or the House divided at this juncture."

Ms Banerjee said "we (MPs from North-east) held a meeting on Friday and will be meeting again shortly to take a collective decision on Deputy Speaker".

The change in her stand, comes a day before the ruling coalition MPs are to meet under the chairmanship of Mr Vajpayee to finalise their stand on the issue.

To a question whether she would support any candidate nominated by the Prime Minister, Ms Banerjee said "we will decide that at our meeting tomorrow... We will attend tomorrow’s BJP and its allies meeting convened by Mr Vajpayee and press for consensus".

"Our options are open till tomorrow and not the day after", she said adding that the Congress and the BJP "should not be rigid".

However, she maintained that there was no danger to the government. "We do not want this government to fall. Our commitment is to this government and there is no question of withdrawing support. There is no connection between the Deputy Speaker’s election and the (stability of) the government", Ms Banerjee asserted.

To a question whether the Trinamool Congress would join the government, she said "we have not taken a decision on the issue as yet".

However, sources close to Ms Banerjee said there was a direct co-relationship between her demand for postponement of Deputy Speaker’s election and her party joining the government. She has successfully managed to rope in five MPs from the North-east for striking a bargain, sources said adding that she was now claiming support of 12 MPs.

Ms Banerjee has been trying to bargain for posts of two cabinet minister and one minister of state for her party. At the same time, she would like to give an impression that her party was not opposed to the candidature of the Congress nominee, Mr P.M. Sayeed.

It was a bargain, rather a very tough bargain in the disguise of nice principles, a senior Samata Party leader said. Everything would be settled tomorrow, he said.

On the deportation of the illegal Bangladeshi migrants from Mumbai, Ms Banerjee said atrocities have been committed against them. "There may be Bangladeshis there. But they should not be ill treated", she said adding that there were some Indians too who were harassed.

She said the Maharashtra government has promised to stop deportation for three months. The government would thus get time to finalise its strategy on the deportation issue,she pointed out.

Congress rejects ATR

NEW DELHI, Aug 2 (PTI, UNI) — The Congress Working Committee (CWC) today "accepted" the Jain Commission’s final report but rejected the government’s decision to constitute a multi-disciplinary monitoring agency (MDMA) even as the party gave indications of continuing with its hardline against the DMK.

The party did not agree with the action taken report (ATR) as such as parts were "politically motivated," senior Congress leader Arjun Singh told reporters.

"There is no contradiction between the interim report and the final report. Have a look at the report", he said in reply to questions on the final report, virtually saying nothing on the role of the DMK and its Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on whom the interim report had come down heavily.

To another question, he said the party did not regret its decision to pull down the United Front government on the issue of dropping the DMK ministers in the wake of interim report late last year.

In reply to a query whether the party repented the line taken last year on the interim report, he replied in the negative saying that "there is no change in the Congress perception".

He said the party’s stand in details would be elaborated in Parliament when the discussion on the report takes place.

The government has decided to set up the MDMA in the CBI to further investigate the role of controversial 'godman' Chandraswamy, Janata Party MP Subramanian Swamy and all other accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, and on how to proceed on the commission’s recommendations to interrogate Mr Karunanidhi.

Sidestepping questions whether the Congress, like the AIADMK, would demand dismissal of the DMK government, he said there was "a slight delicacy" involved in putting forth the party’s point of view.

Asked whether the Congress would approach the DMK for its support to party candidate P.M. Sayeed for the Lok Sabha Deputy Speakership, he said "if somebody wants to support our candidate, he is welcome."

Asked whether the Congress repented its earlier decision to withdraw support to the United Front government based on the interim report of the Jain Commission, he said there were no regrets.

We had only asked the Gujral government to drop the three DMK ministers till the DMK was cleared of the charges. When Mr Gujral was not ready even to talk to us, we had decided to withdraw support to his government, the Congress leader remarked.

The CWC regretted the BJP's failure to honour the convention to have the Deputy Speaker from the largest opposition party and said the ruling party went back on its initial commitment.

The CWC accepted the recommendations of the Karunakaran committee on constitutional affairs to extend the term of all committees and office-bearers of the Congress party from two to three years.

The party deplored the steps being taken to dilute the rights provided to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees by the Congress governments. The committee requested the party chief to set up a small committee to go into the details of the matter and submit a report to her at the earliest.

Ms Gandhi, in her opening remarks, thanked the Congress workers for their massive presence in the Capital on July 28 to participate in the agitational programme. She said these agitational programmes of the party would continue.