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| Delhi or Raj Bhavans can't decide: Karat | | | NEW DELHI| FEB 19
Speaking out on behalf of a party that is opposed to the Raj Bhavans or Delhi deciding the fate of an elected State government, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat on Sunday said the Government should be conscious of the repercussions of invoking Article 356 (imposition of President's rule) in Uttar Pradesh.
Mr. Karat was responding to questions on his party's stand with regard to any move by the Centre to dismiss the Mulayam Singh Government. Hoping that "wiser counsel will prevail" in the Congress, he said: "We have not got any indication of dismissal and hope that a decision is taken only after all views are taken into consideration." And, "we hope that a government we support does not take such a decision."
Briefing mediapersons here after a two-day meeting of the Polit Bureau of the party, Mr. Karat said at least four parties in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) arrangement were opposed to the use of Article 356. Besides his own party, he said the Communist Party of India, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Forward Bloc were opposed to the use of Article 356. He said two constituents of the UPA — the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Rashtriya Janata Dal — besides the CPI (M) itself, have been victims of the misuse of Article 356.
Stating that it was "good" that the Congress was consulting all allies and supporting parties on the Uttar Pradesh issue, Mr. Karat said: "Consultations are required because we do not want a midnight invocation of Article 356." Further, he questioned the logic of dismissing Mr. Mulayam Singh's Government at this juncture when elections were just two months away.
Holding the view that neither Raj Bhavans nor Delhi could decide whether a government enjoys majority, Mr. Karat said Article 356 was not a cure for bad governance. Consequent to the Supreme Court judgment disqualifying 13 legislators who defected from the Bahujan Samaj Party in 2003, the question of whether Mr. Mulayam Singh's Government commands a majority in the legislature must be tested on the floor of the House, he said.
In its statement, the Polit Bureau noted that Article 356 is a draconian clause that can be misused, and reiterated its long-pending demand for amendments to this constitutional provision. Referring to amendments agreed to at the Inter-State Council in 1999, it said the CPI (M) was only demanding modifications to Article 356. "There are some UPA parties who want it to be scrapped."
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