Rabri inducts 9 more ministers

PATNA, Sept 17 (PTI) — On a day of fast-paced developments, the JMM (S) withdrew support to Bihar’s Rabri Devi government which retaliated by sacking its leaders from the interim Autonomous Council for Jharkhand and expanded the ministry to strengthen its support base.

While the withdrawal of support by the JMM (S) posed no threat to the government strongly opposed to the creation of Vananchal state for the tribal region of Bihar as mooted by the Centre, BJP leader Pramod Mahajan hinted that the Rabri Devi Ministry might be dismissed after September 20.

Earlier, union ministers Mr George Fernandes and Mr Nitish Kumar had also asserted that the RJD government might be dismissed anytime after the return of the President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, from abroad.

With the draft Bill for creation of Vananchal slated to come before the state Assembly in a special session tomorrow, the ruling RJD sought to cement its bond with the 13-member breakaway Janata Dal.

It accommodated nine breakaway JD leaders in the Council of Ministers today after the merger of the group in the RJD was recognised by the Speaker yesterday.

The merger raises the strength of the RJD Legislature Party to 146 and it also enjoys the support of nine Independents and six expelled members of the CPI for a combined strength of 161 in a House whose effective strength is 320.

Mrs Rabri Devi removed top functionaries of the interim Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council (JAAC) as also its members and announced decision to reconstitute the body heightening the atmosphere of confrontation over proposed bifurcation of Bihar.

Both the Chairman Mr Shibu Soren and the Vice-Chairman, Mr Suraj Mandal belong to JMM (S). The Chief Minister told PTI that she had sacked Mr Shibu Soren and Mr Suraj Mandal, both top rung JMM (S) leaders, besides all Executive Councillors and Councillors.

The decision came within hours after JMM (S) MLAs withdrew support to the Rabri Devi government through a letter to the Governor, Mr Sundar Singh Bhandari, at Raj Bhavan this afternoon.

The withdrawal followed the RJD president, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, strongly opposing the creation of a separate state of Vananchal, saying the bifurcation of the state would be "only over my dead body".

"Since the RJD Government had vehemently opposed the Bihar Reorganisation (Vananchal) Bill, 1998, and had withdrawn the earlier resolution unanimously adopted by the State Assembly for the creation of a separate Jharkhand state "we are left with no choice but to withdraw support to the Rabri Devi government," the JMM (S) said in the letter.

Earlier, 16 JMM (S) MLAs and one Independent Lobin Hembrom marched in a procession to Raj Bhavan raising anti-government and pro-Jharkhand slogans.

After handing over the letter to the Governor, JMM (S) leaders held a day-long dharna to press for the creation of a separate tribal state.

Mr Marandi told PTI at the dharna site that he had informed the Governor about the feelings of the people of South Bihar, where "the situation has become volatile after Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav’s statement on Vananchal".

"The people in the tribal area have become restive and effigies of Laloo Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi are being burnt," he said.

"We informed the Governor that Mr Yadav is trying to create a divide among the tribals and non-tribals by his inflammatory speeches," he said.

The Governor, he said, assured the JMM (S) that he would apprise the Centre of its feelings and demands.

Mr Marandi said an all-party meeting has been convened to discuss the strategy to be adopted during the three-day special session commencing from tomorrow and to chalk out the future course of action in view of "rigid and aggressive stance" adopted by Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav over the issue.

He claimed that several RJD and a few JD MLAs, besides some from the Congress and other parties would attend the meeting.

The JMM-M and the Jharkhand People’s Party (JPP), which have two legislators each, too would submit separate letters to the Governor withdrawing support to the Rabri Devi government, he said.

He said the JMM (S) had moved two amendments to the proposed Bill seeking change in its name from "Vananchal" to "Jharkhand" and a separate high court for the region instead of a common high court.

Meanwhile, the Bihar Pradesh Yuva Rashtriya Janata Dal (BPYRJD) General Secretary, Mr Ravindra Verma, today tendered his resignation to the party chief in protest against the change of stand over the Vananchal issue.

Mr Verma said in his letter, the RJD’s opposition to Vananchal at a time when the over 50-year-old demand for a separate state was nearing fulfilment was "hard to swallow" and requested Mr Yadav to change his stance.

Mr Shamsher Alam, the Vice-President of the BPYRJD, said he would work to ensure success of Mr Yadav’s call for a state-wide "Save Bihar Campaign".

All 12 RJD MLAs representing the Vananchal region, including seven state ministers, today threw their weight behind the party chief.

"We stand like a rock behind our party supremo Yadav, who has announced that the state can be divided into two only over his body", South Bihar RJD MLAs told reporters.

The MLAs include seven ministers in the Rabri Devi Cabinet — Govardhan Naik, Aklu Ram Mahto, Saba Ahmed, Girinath Singh, Abo Devi, Awadhesh Singh and Ram Chandra Chandravanshi. The two ministers, however, supported Mr Yadav’s demand for creation of a greater Jharkhand state comprising contiguous tribal districts of Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and MP.

RJD MLAs from South Bihar also held a meeting at the Chief Minister’s official residence to repose faith in Mr Yadav. The two ministers also denied reports in a section of the press that they had revolted against the decision of Mr Yadav on the matter.

Legal experts feel that Parliament is not bound by the view expressed by a state legislature on carving out of a new state from its territory.

The former Chief Justice of India, Mr A.M. Ahmadi, said Article 3 of the Constitution was clear that "only the view of the state has to be ascertained."

"Once it is ascertained, Parliament can proceed with the task as to what should be the boundary of the new state and other formalities," Justice Ahmadi told PTI.

The only mandatory thing in the whole process vis-a-vis the affected states was that their view was to be ascertained, the former CJI said.

The former Secretary-General of Lok Sabha, Dr Subhash Kashyap said "as per Article 3 the President has to make a reference to the state legislature for ascertaining its views within a specified time regarding creation of a new state by carving out territory from the existing state."

"Once the views were ascertained, whether negative or positive, Parliament can take necessary steps as the views of the state was not binding," Mr Kashyap said.

Advani non-committal about Rabri's sack

HYDERABAD, Sep 17 (PTI) Union Home Minister L.K. Advani today remained non-committal about the growing demand for dismissal of the RJD government in Bihar, saying that "we will do whatever is constitutionally correct and politically legitimate".

The government was studying inputs from political parties and other sources on Bihar situation in the wake of demand for dismissal of the Rabri Devi government, Mr Advani told a press conference here.

"We are seized of the matter. The government will take its own time", was all the Home Minister had to say despite persistent queries.

He, however, asserted that the government would always strive to be constitutionally and politically correct.

"Even personal provocations will not deflect the government from the path of constitutional propriety whether it is Bihar or Tamil Nadu", Advani, who is here to participate in the golden jubilee celebration of liberation of Hyderabad from Nizam’s rule and its merger with Indian unions, said.

Asked whether he felt the need for a code of conduct for coalition partners, he said "there is no such code but we are trying to adhere to coalition culture though we are not totally used to it as yet".

Mr Advani today also out hot pursuit of terrorists across the border but asserted that Pakistan's proxy war would be defeated by a two-pronged strategy of effectively checking infiltration and quelling militancy within the country.

Though hot pursuit of terrorists has legitimacy as per international law, the government's approach in the present situation would be to curb infiltration on one hand and tackle militancy within the country on the other, Advani told reporters here.

Mr Advani today said "at no point of time" he gave any assurance to take action against the DMK government in Tamil Nadu following the Coimbatore bomb blasts and asserted that the Vajpayee government would do what was constitutionally correct.

"At no point of time did I ever promise action (against the Karunanidhi government). Our government will always do what is constitutionally correct and politically legitimate", Mr Advani told reporters here.

He was reacting to AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha's statement accusing him of "eating his own words" on taking action against the DMK government.

Pressed for his reaction to Jayalalitha's charge, Mr Advani said "I need not say anything about it now. Even personal provocations will not deflect our government from the path of constitutional propriety".

Mr Advani decried attempts by Communist parties in Andhra Pradesh to criticise the BJP for organising golden jubilee celebration of liberation of Hyderabad from Nizam's rule and its merger with Indian unions.

Assailing Communists for "waging war against the state" even after accession of Hyderabad in 1948, Mr Advani said the country's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had effectively checked "anarchy and lawlessness" created by communists five decades ago.

A bitter debate had broken out in the state, in the run-up to the celebrations, over the role of various political parties during the struggle for Hyderabad's liberation with Communist leaders questioning BJP's "enthusiasm" to organise celebration though it was never a part of the anti-Nizam struggle.

He quoted extensively from a book, written by Vallabhbhai Patel's Secretary V.P. Menon on Hyderabad liberation, to accuse Communists of trying to take "possession of the state by exploiting the turmoil and confusion".

The communists had even allied themselves with "razakars" (Muslim militants) to take over the state and spread their tentacles to the rest of the country, Mr Advani quoted Mr Menon from his book.