M A I N   N E W S

Rebels keep Dhumal on tenterhooks
Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 7
Seven BJP rebels are keeping Chief Minister P. K. Dhumal on tenterhooks by continuing to remain out of the Vidhan Sabha during this crucial Budget Session. The rebels today remained present in the lobby of the Assembly, but did not enter the House.

One of the rebels told the TNS that he and other rebels would stick to their decision of not participating in the proceedings of the House, but would not allow the BJP government to fall.

The passing of the Motion of Thanks on the Governor’s Address and the Budget estimates are the crucial days when Mr Dhumal will require a majority in the House.

He said that they had made it clear to the BJP high command that they would accept nothing short of replacing Mr Dhumal and the General Secretary of the party, Mr Narendera Modi.

The rebel leader said that their allegation about the Dhumal government indulging in corruption had been vindicated with the high court taking suo motu notice of the bunglings in the Health Department.

In lighter vein, a senior Congress legislator, Mr J. B. L. Khachi, greeted Mr Dhumal in the House this morning by enquiring where his flock was. Mr Dhumal replied that the flock was following.

However, none of the rebels, including Mr Ramesh Dhwala, Mr K.K. Kapoor, Mr Rajan Sushant, Mr Harinarayan Singh, Mr Dulo Ram, Mrs Nirmala Devi and Mr Des Raj entered the House.

A question tabled by Mr Dulo Ram regarding development works in his Baijnath area could not be taken up because of his absence.

A rebel leader was confident that the Centre would accept their demand for a change in leadership as he claimed that the graph of the BJP government’s popularity was falling in the state. He claimed that during their meeting with the HVC leader, Mr Sukh Ram, the political developments were discussed in detail and the latter endorsed their stand.

On the other hand, it was being said that Mr Sukh Ram was trying to derive political benefit out of the turmoil in the BJP and further strengthen his party. He had, however, said that the infighting in the BJP should come to an end as political uncertainty makes the people suffer and the development process comes to a standstill.

He said that what was happening in the BJP was unfortunate.

What was significant was that Mr Sukh Ram had made it clear that his HVC would support any one who was nominated as Chief Minister by the BJP high command. He was equally sore over the dismissal of the four rebel ministers by Mr Dhumal and said that he would not have advised such action in case had he been consulted on the issue.

Mr Sukh Ram was making his importance felt by claiming that neither the BJP and nor the Congress were in a position to form a government in the state without his help and this has been proved in the recent panchayat elections.

CEC meeting on Assembly poll
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 7
With the Assembly elections likely to be held in the last week of April in West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, the Chief Election Commissioner, Mr M.S. Gill, has called a meeting of top officials of these states on March 12 here to review the law and order situation and poll preparations.

The meeting would be attended by the Chief Secretaries, Home Secretaries, Director-Generals of Police and Chief Electoral Officers of these states and the union territory, commission sources told The Tribune today.