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Political Notes

	December 04, 2006

Race for next President



The BJP appears to be pitching for re-election of incumbent President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for a second term of five years. BJP president Rajnath Singh told reporters at the party headquarters in New Delhi on December 1 that the “dignity of the Office of President has been enhanced by Kalam. we have told him that if he wants to run for another term, we are with him.”



Sources disclosed that four NDA leaders - L.K. Advani, George Fernandes, Jaswant Singh and Rajnath Singh - had conveyed their offer to back Kalam when they called on him a week ago. The NDA intention to prop up Kalam’s candidature emanates from the calculation that the UPA would find it difficult to oppose a Muslim name, particularly at a time when it is making frantic efforts to woo the community.





Congress may not back Kalam



However, reports indicate that the Congress is reluctant to back President Kalam for the second term. The party on Friday, Dec. 1, did not respond positively to speculation that the BJP was considering to persuade the President to agree to another term.



Asked about BJP chief Rajnath Singh’s purported attempt to persuade Kalam to make a second bid for Rashtrapati Bhavan, Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said, “Congress has taken no decision about this matter.” Significantly, Singhvi sidestepped a question on how the Congress leadership rated Kalam’s presidency.



UPA circles are abuzz with the possibility of one of the Congress veterans - Pranab Mukherjee, Karan Singh, Sushil Kumar Shinde - or Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee taking the field.



While July 2007, when the Presidential poll is due, is only months away, it makes sense for the party not to reveal its hand before results of the Assembly polls in UP, Punjab and Uttaranchal are in. Results in these states will render the presidential fight an interesting contest.



Kalam himself let it be known some time back that he was not interested in another term. The President made it clear that he would prefer going back to teaching. Last time, all the major groupings, except the Left, had backed him. Among them were the BJP and its NDA allies, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress.



The Congress does not seem willing to support him for another term. So far, only the first President Rajendra Prasad occupied the office twice.





Demand for President’s Rule in Uttar Pradesh



As the time for holding Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh comes nearer, more parties are demanding imposition of President’s Rule in the state in the interest of holding free and fair elections. The BJP says that free and fair elections are not possible in the state under the current regime as Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party wants to win the polls with the help of criminals and government officials. State BJP chief Kesari Nath Tripathi said even the state election commissioner had accepted that there was tremendous pressure during the local bodies polls.



There was trading of charges among the Samajwadi Party, the Congress and the BJP in both Houses of Parliament on Nov. 27 on matters relating to Uttar Pradesh. The Samajwadi Party members were agitated over the reported statement of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Sriprakash Jaiswal about the imposition of President’s Rule in UP being under the Centre’s consideration.



Jaiswal, however, denied that the Centre was considering imposition of President’s Rule in the state.



The Congress says that it is considering the next phase of the Jail Bharo (fill prisons) agitation against the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government to focus on the alleged political vendetta by the ruling party in the state against Congress leaders.



About a dozen Congressmen suffered injuries on Monday, Nov. 27 when police used force to quell the party’s Assembly gherao programme in Lucknow. Among those reportedly roughed up by the police was the state congress president Salman Khurshid.



Supreme Court clears Mayawati’s prosecution in Taj corridor scam



The Supreme Court has cleared the decks for prosecution of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati in the Rs. 175 crore Taj Heritage Corridor scam. On Nov. 27, the apex court set aside former CBI director U.S. Misra’s decision to close the case which was registered on its directive in 2003. A Bench headed by Justice S.B. Sinha directed the CBI to place all the evidence before a special judge who would decide the fate of the case.



Although the CBI team investigating the case was unanimous that it should be pursued, Misra had closed the case on the Attorney General’s recommendation. The court said the matter should not have been referred to the Attorney General as there was no difference of opinion within the investigating team.