New Delhi, February 6
President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam dissolved the 13th Lok Sabha today paving the way for snap general election at least seven months ahead of schedule.
Mr Kalam signed the proclamation as recommended by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cabinet and after the Prime Minister called on the President last night and apprised him of the proceedings in Parliament.
A Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said: “As necessary financial and other business have since been completed by Parliament, the President has now accepted the recommendation and in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sub-clause (b) of clause (2) of article 85 of the Constitution of India has signed an order today, dissolving the 13th Lok Sabha with immediate effect.” Mr Vajpayee had also called on Mr Kalam on January 27 and conveyed the advice of the Cabinet to “dissolve the 13th Lok Sabha on February 6, 2004,” the communique added.
The President signed the proclamation before leaving for Chennai.
Seeking to ride the ‘feel good’ factor following the victory in the recent Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the BJP-led NDA is going to the people to seek a fresh mandate even though it has not completed the full five-year term in office.
This is the fourth time that a government at the Centre has gone in for the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. In 1971, the late Indira Gandhi advanced the general election following the liberation of Bangladesh. In 1984, after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, her son Rajiv Gandhi went in for a snap poll riding on a massive sympathy wave. The third instance was in
1989.
