 |
||
|
||
|
||
The Left parties were willing to accept a "consensus" candidate to
replace Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, even as they continued to
harbour reservations about Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) chief G K
Moopanar donning the mantle.
They were also sceptical about the longevity of the new regime.
"At the maximum the Government will last a year; at the minimum
between eight and nine months," said a senior Left leader, who
attended Friday's Standing Committee meeting.
Since there is the likelihood of the new Prime Minister being sworn
in by Sunday, the special session of Parliament, summoned from
April 21 to 23, may be rendered infructuous, said Left leaders.
The softening of the mood within the Left parties was evident from
their reaction to the letter despatched by Congress president
Sitaram Kesri to President Shankar Dayal Sharma on Friday.
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general Secretary
Harkishan Singh Surjeet said, "Yes, we can now go forward. There
will be a new leader in a day or two."
His counterpart in the Communist Party of India (CPI), A B Bardhan
said, "the letter has opened the way for resolving the crisis. The
UF can now take the next step of electing a new leader by
consensus." At the Standing Committee meeting, the leaders stressed
the urgency of setting up the proposed coordination committee so
that the Congress can be made "accountable" for the decisions taken
by the Government.
They said the committee should involve only the Government and the
Congress and not the UF.
The committee is likely to include the Prime Minister, two to three
of his Cabinet colleagues, the Congress president and two to three
of his senior partymen.
The Left leaders expressed the opinion that the committee should be
formed as soom as possible.
Referring to the negative references in Mr Kesri's letter to Mr
Deve Gowda, the Left described its as "bad grace". "It may have
been politically the right thing to do for the party, but it is not
graceful," a senior Left leader commented.
The Left parties expressed the hope that the new Prime Minister
would respect the sentiments of the constituent Front parties and
not tamper with the existing Council of Ministers.
"He can make some changes as he feels necessary, but he should keep
the structure and distribution as followed by Mr Deve Gowda," they
said.
The CPI too appears to be in favour of the status quo.
Said a senior party leader, "only the head will change, not the
body."
However, the party will "review" the situation before formalising
its stand. The Left basically wants to continue playing the role of
the United Front's "voice of conscience".
|
||
|
||
|
||