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Despite the Uttar Pradesh Governor's attempt to tone down the
differences between him and the Union Home Minister, the CPI
leadership is mounting pressure on the United Front government to
find a "honourable exit formula" for Mr Romesh Bhandari.
"We want him to go. Mr Bhandari had no business to go public about
a statement made by the Home Minister in Parliament," said CPI
veteran leader M A Farooqi on Monday.
The Left parties have decided to take up this issue in the meeting
of the UF steering committee scheduled on Tuesday. "We will first
wait for the Prime Minister to clarify the issue and then let him
know that we feel strongly about it," a senior member of the CPI
National Council said.
However, CPI wants to get the BJP-sponsored motion voted out, so
that the "communal" elements are not able to take advantage of the
situation.
Meanwhile, to strengthen the Home Minister's statement in
Parliament on the deteriorating situation in UP, the CPI had sent a
senior member of the national secretariat to UP on a eight-day
fact-finding mission.
The member, after interacting with the members of the state unit,
senior bureaucrats and a cross-section of the public has made a
detailed report highlighting, among others things the break-down in
law and order, the collapse of the Public Distribution System
(PDS), the utter demoralisation of the bureaucracy because of the
large-scale transfers affected by the Governor, and the consequent
collapse of the state administration.
This will come in handy for the party to pressurise the Prime
Minister to implement the "honourable exit" formula, once the BJP
sponsored motion is defeated on the floor of the House.
Despite hectic lobbying by powerful constituents of the UF - the
Samajwadi Party - in favour of the UP Governor, the CPI leadership
is hopeful that the "Governor will be eased out." "We know that Mr
Mulayam Singh Yadav and SP is backing him to the hilt. We also know
that we are part of a coalition. Therefore, we have to tread
carefully - We will have to convince them of the seriousness of the
misdemeanors of the governor and the situation in UP," Mr Farooqi
said.
The opinion of the CPI leaders is that, given the gravity of the
situation in UP and the fact that the Speaker chose to admit the
motion, Mr Bhandari should make a "honourable exit" on his own
volition.
"After what has happened, it is inconceivable that he be allowed to
stay. When Mr Bhandari was appointed, we had voiced our
apprehension. The Government should put a stop to appointing
retired bureaucrats as governors," said a CPI central secretariat
member.
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