M A I N   N E W S

Trinamool Cong, PMK back in NDA
Tribune News Service

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at the National Democratic Alliance meeting in New Delhi on Monday. — PTI photo

New Delhi, August 27
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee emerged victorious in three difficult situations at the ruling NDA meet here today as the Trinamool Congress (TC) and Pattali Makkal Katchhi (PMK) were reinducted into the alliance, the angry National Conference attended the meeting and the alliance unanimously agreed that it was “not structured” to file an FIR in the tehelka.com case.

Ignoring the reservations of the BJP about the reinduction of the Trinamool Congress and the PMK into the NDA fold, the two parties were formally made a part of the alliance today at a crucial meeting of the NDA’s Coordination Committee here. With today’s decision, the NDA strength has risen from 20 parties to 22 parties.

Briefing reporters outside the meeting venue of the Prime Minister’s residence, NDA convener George Fernandes said the PMK had already become a part of the NDA and today its re-entry had been formalised. It may be recalled that the PMK had attended the last NDA Coordination Committee meeting.

It was the re-entry of the Trinamool which had been causing strife within the BJP as the West Bengal unit of the party was against taking the Trinamool back into the NDA fold.

Another important highlight of today’s meet was that the National Conference, which on Sunday had threatened to walk out of the alliance, reposed its faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and sent its representative and Union Minister Omar Farooq Abdullah to attend the two-hour meeting.

Mr Fernandes quoted Mr Omar Farooq Abdullah as saying that the differences among the NDA partners would be sorted out mutually. Mr Fernandes said he had personally spoken to Dr Farooq Abdullah this morning who could not attend the meeting as he had to rush to Jammu for attending his Cabinet colleague’s funeral.

On another contentious issue whether the NDA or the government should file an FIR against the portal tehelka.com for using sex workers to get a story, Mr Fernandes said the NDA unanimously agreed that the coalition was “not structured” to do so.

Mr Fernandes said, “This (the filing of the FIR) should be done at a different level and it would be done soon.”

He informed that the NDA had decided to hold a women’s demonstration in the Capital on September 3 after which the demonstrators would be giving a memorandum to the National Commission for Women to protest against the use of sex workers by tehelka.com.

On the issue of the Venkatswamy Commission which is probing corruption in defence deals exposed by tehelka.com, Mr Fernandes said the NDA constituents were of the view that the commission should be asked to expedite its work as several important files related to arms purchases were with the commission.

Mr Fernandes said the work of the Ministry of Defence was being hampered on this count. He felt that the commission should finish its work early in view of the national security considerations also.

George comes to Mamata’s aid
No ministership for 4 or 5 months
Rajeev Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 27
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee today had to ride piggyback on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Convener George Fernandes to get reinducted into the NDA as five participants at the NDA meeting stoutly opposed her re-entry.

However, Ms Banerjee would have to cool her heels for good four or five months for getting a ministerial portfolio as the Vajpayee government has decided in principal for a cooling off period for those who stage a comeback to the NDA.

Well-placed political sources today indicated that Ms Banerjee would not be given the Railway portfolio as and when she is inducted into the Union Cabinet. “Railways? No, never,” was the pithy comment of these sources when asked about Ms Banerjee getting back the portfolio she held before she resigned and walked out of the NDA just prior to the West Bengal Assembly elections earlier this year.

At one stage during today’s two-hour long Coordination Committee meeting of the NDA, a situation had developed for putting the Trinamool reinduction issue in the cold storage and take a decision only after the end of the monsoon session of Parliament.

Five participants — BJP President K Jana Krishnamurthy, senior BJP leader Sikandar Bakht, independent MP Maneka Gandhi, JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav and Union Minister and National Conference leader Omar Farooq — stiffly opposed Ms Banerjee’s reinduction into the NDA. Mr Krishnamurthy was the most vociferous of them all in his opposition to Ms Banerjee’s re-entry. They said Ms Banerjee first must give in writing that she wants to come back to the NDA and should also make a public announcement to this effect. Their contention was that the NDA should not be treated with such disdain that political parties join it, quit it and come back to it at will.

Mr Fernandes intervened at this stage and argued that Ms Banerjee had openly stated her desire to come back to the NDA at a public rally in Kolkata in which he also was present. In view of this, the NDA had no reason to block or delay her re-entry.

But the five leaders were not willing to buy this explanation. Ultimately, the Prime Minister spoke and said that he wanted Ms Banerjee’s re-entry into the NDA without any further delay.

Mr Vajpayee, the sources said, also told the NDA partners that he had already sent an invitation to Ms Banerjee for tomorrow’s dinner which he is hosting and it would look odd if she were to attend the dinner without being a part of the NDA as the dinner was meant for NDA allies.

This argument of Mr Vajpayee and his vehement support for Ms Banerjee sealed the argument in favour of the Trinamool leader.

Ajit Singh not invited to NDA meeting
S.Satyanarayanan
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 27
Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which joined the NDA at the Centre recently, was not invited for the alliance’s crucial meeting called by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today, triggering speculation about a fresh row between INLD chief and Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, who was opposed to RLD’s inclusion into the fold.

However, the BJP tried to play down the happening.

“I don’t know why the invitation was not sent.... I have to find out.... But, don’t read too much into it. If at all there was some problem it will be sorted out by tomorrow,” senior BJP leader and spokesman V.K. Malhotra told newspersons.

The official explanation was that the invitations to the NDA leaders were sent as per the old list, which did not contain the name of Mr Ajit Singh.

However, some NDA leaders pointed out the possibility of he not being invited to the NDA meeting to appease Mr Chautala, who had been opposing tooth and nail the induction of RLD leader into the Union Cabinet.

Efforts to contact Mr Ajit Singh and Mr Chautala for their comments went in vain.

Mr Chautala had been openly criticising the inclusion of Mr Ajit Singh in the Vajpayee government as Union Minister of Agriculture.

The INLD chief has been accusing Mr Ajit Singh of “pursuing politics of opportunism”.

The Haryana Chief Minister had during a kisan sammelan in Agra on August 11 went to the extent of saying that the RLD had been given the berth in the Cabinet only with an eye on the forthcoming assembly poll in Uttar Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Ms Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress’ re-entry into the NDA fold at the Centre was a foregone conclusion with the party’s MPs receiving invitation on Saturday itself from the Prime Minister for the dinner being hosted by him tomorrow for all NDA MPs.

According to sources, the Trinamool Congress MPs had got the invitation for Tuesday’s dinner at 8.30 p.m. on Saturday and Mr Vajpayee called the meeting of the NDA today morning itself as he wanted to formalise the re-entry of Trinamool Congress before tomorrow’s dinner to avoid criticism.

Many BJP leaders wanted the formalisation of the Trinamool Congress re-entry only after the current monsoon session concluded on August 31, but Mr Vajpayee went ahead with the meeting as he did not want to face a flak from the media for inviting Ms Mamata’s party to the dinner before its formal re-entry.