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The issue of replacing Uttar Pradesh Governor Romesh Bhandari over
the question of deteriorating law and order situation in the State
took an ugly turn on Monday with two prominent Union Cabinet
Ministers training their guns on each other and the Bharatiya
Janata Party in the Lok Sabha demanding reopening of the issue of
the Governor's conduct and his recall.
Even as the issue figured prominently in the Lok Sabha, difference
between Union Home Minister Indrajit Gupta and De. fence Minister
Mulayam Singh Yadav shot to the fore, with the later justifying Mr
Bhandari's continuance in office and the former taking strong
exception to Mr Bhandari's direct meeting with Prime Minister H D
Deve Gowda to discuss UP's law and order situation.
While Mr Yadav dismissed the allegation that the situation was Dad
in the state asserting that "things were not so alarming, which
could warrant drastic changes," Mr Gupta maintained that "after
all, I am the Home Minister and the Governor should have come to
me."
However, in an apparent bid to cover up the ministers' clash of
opinions, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Srikant Jena said,
"These are minor differences of perception, which would be shortly
sorted out."
Nevertheless, Mr Jena cautioned that if the situation persisted at
the same frequency Mr Gowda might be forced to directly take charge
of UP affairs, as the Jammu and Kashmir affairs were being dealt
directly by the PMO during P V Narasimha Rao's tenure as the Prime
Minister, when a tussle persisted between then Union Ministers S B
Chavan and Rajesh Pilot.
Moreover, the BJP received unexpected support from the Congress and
the Indian Union Muslim League in the Lok Sabha, while Speaker P A
Sangma reserved his ruling till Tuesday on the admissibility of a
motion censuring him.
The House discussed for nearly an hour a notice given by BJP deputy
leader Jaswant Singh for the recall of the Governor for his
'rejection' of the assessment of the law arid order situation made
by the Home Minister on a 'substantive' motion moved by him under
rule 184, which provided for voting.
Mr Singh felt that a discussion under rule 193, as indicated by the
Speaker in his ruling last week on the subject, would not suffice
his purpose of censuring the Governor.
While leader of the Opposition Atal Behari Vajpayee and Samata
Party member Nitish Kumar supported Mr Singh, he also got support
from the Congress and IUML benches, who felt that the member had a
right to move such a motion.
However, former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar and CPM members felt
that the Mr Gowda should make a statement in the House on the
issue, but the time had not yet come.
In a brief intervention, Mr Vajpayee said that the matter was "very
serious," adding that the House had discussed the conduct of the
Governors many a time in the past.
According to Mr Chandrashekhar, Governor's denial of Home
Minister's statement was not 'expected' in parliamentary democracy.
He added that if the Governor's conduct was to be discussed in the
House, then many unnecessary things would come out, Instead, he
said, the Centre should come out with a statement in the House on
the reported disagreement.
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