New Delhi, December 1
With the opposition all set to target the UPA government over the Paswan-Laloo Yadav public spat, a damage- control exercise was set in motion today with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh speaking separately to his Cabinet ministers, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan and RJD president Laloo Prasad Yadav in this connection.
While the Prime Minister spoke to Mr Paswan earlier during the day, he had a 10-minute meeting with Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav after the Cabinet meeting this evening. Dr. Singh appealed to his Cabinet colleagues that they refrain from taking their political fued to the streets.
The two Bihar leaders are engaged in an unseemly war of words while allegations and counter-allegations of corruption are being bandied around freely. The two, however, are learnt to be unrepentant about their public outbursts in their talks with the Prime Minister and instead blamed the other for having initiated this round of accusations.
Mr Ahmed Patel, Congress President’s Political Secretary, is also learnt to have contacted both Mr Paswan and Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav and urged the two senior Cabinet ministers not to go public with their differences. He also reminded them of the adverse impact this will have on the UPA government’s credibility.
Although it is officially playing down this issue, Congress leaders privately admit that this open fight between two senior ministers is proving to be an embarassment while hurting the government’s reputation. In addition, it has
unnecessarily provided an issue to the opposition to hit out at the UPA government.
It is learnt this issue did figure at the Rajya Sabha’s business advisory committee, convened by the chairman Bhairon Singh Shekawat to discuss the agenda for the coming week. The BJP wanted the Paswan-Laloo battle to be taken up in the House on the plea that it is a reflects on the government’s collective responsibility.
The Congress, however, said the issue does not merit a structured debate as it does not fall “within the parameters of collective responsibility.” The Congress is also hoping this issue would have been addressed by the Prime Minister in case the BJP does raise this issue in Parliament.
For the record, however, the Congress attributed the Pawan-Laloo Yadav row to the “dynamics of state politics” in poll-bound Bihar. Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma disagreed that the spat was impacting the credibility and functioning of the UPA government. He said the Prime Minister is seized of the matter and this issue would be taken up at the next meeting of the UPA coordination committee.
