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Uttar Pradesh : Implications of the court verdict

	September 22, 2003

The historic verdict of the Rae Bareli court in the Babri mosque demolition case is likely to have its impact on state politics which may even result in realignment political forces.

Observers believe that the Congress expectations from Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav may increase after the court verdict. The SP leader now faces an “acid test” in the Congress’ view.

Officially, the leading opposition party would “wait and watch” the follow-up action of the UP government and the CBI in the wake of the court order. Informally, its leaders say the verdict may have increased the pressure on the Yadav government, which is supposed to act as a facilitator — on the question of filing an appeal against Advani’s discharge and to cure the “technical defect” in the notification (which Mayawati had failed to do). Instead of issuing a fresh notification to set up a special court in Lucknow, Mayawati, with the approval of the Allahabad High Court, had constituted one at Rae Bareli.

“Though there is no direct link between the two developments, the pressure would mount on Yadav since the verdict has brought the Ayodhya issue to the forefront once again,” said a Congress leader, noting that the verdict and the notification issue give the chief minister leverage vis-a-vis the BJP. He added that if the “defect” is cured all the earlier positions would be restored.

Besides this, there is a clutch of petitions pending before the Supreme Court challenging the CBI’s move to drop charges of criminal conspiracy (I20B) against Advani and asking for the revival of the trial at the Lucknow court. “The Supreme Court’s ruling on these would have a bearing on the Rae Bareli court’s order as well,” the Congress leader said. In the absence of a co-ordination committee in UP, the Congress may not be able to take up the issues formally with Yadav. But the party is likely to convey its expectations through informal channels.

At another level, the Congress feels that the latest developments have put the spotlight on Yadav. The chief minister, who assumed office amid speculations that the BJP had lent him a helping hand, will have to disabuse these impressions. His relationship with the BJP will play an important role in this, feels the Congress. Speculation of a SP-BJP ‘deal’, in fact, was among the factors working on the party when it decided to stay out of the Yadav government “for the time being”.



Samajwadi party signals to Sonia Gandhi

The Samajwadi Party (SP) seems to be shifting its stand vis-a-vis acceptance of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi as a Prime Ministerial candidate of the combined opposition. It may be recalled that SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav had last week dismissed queries on the subject saying there was no possibility of early Lok Sabha elections and as such the issue did not arise. Now, the party says, ruling out the possibility of the party joining any front at the national level, that it has improved its communication with the Congress and has “no basic problem” in accepting Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister if her party comes to power.

“Samajwadi Party has decided not to join any front since our past experience on morchas is not good. None of the previous fronts - either with former Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav or the People’s Front survived. The People’s Front broke up on the issue of supporting APJ Abdul Kalam for the post of President,” SP general secretary Amar Singh has pointed out . Singh, however, said the SP was in constant touch with the Congress. “It is a big development”. He recalled that Samajwadi Party had invited the Congress to participate in its government in Uttar Pradesh and party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav called on Sonia Gandhi first after assuming charge as Chief Minister.

To a specific question, Singh indicated that the SP was no longer averse to accepting Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister saying, “We don’t have any basic problem. The rest is in hands of the Congress leadership. The issue should be decided by the Congress leadership in case the party comes to power after the next Lok Sabha election”. Asked why the SP has changed its stand, Singh replied that the situation had changed with Prime Minister Vajpayee consulting Sonia Gandhi on the issue of sending Indian troops to Iraq. She has been seen flanked by the Shankaracharya and Vajpayee at a function and, over and above it, the Supreme Court has ruled that she is not a foreigner.

In this connection, he referred to veteran CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu’s statement that there was no problem in accepting Sonia as Prime Minister. The SP general secretary has clarified although his party had decided not to join any ‘morcha’,(front) it was ready for ‘give-and-take’ politics. On the Samajwadi Party’s relationship with the CPI(M), Singh regretted that the party had refused to allot even a single seat to the SP during the last assembly poll in West Bengal. The SP, on the other hand, had given seats to the Marxists in Uttar Pradesh.

The SP’s changed tactics are seen by observers as a ploy to rope in the Congress as a coalition partner in UP and keep the party away from the main rival, the Bahujan Samaj Party. The SP is still a regional party, though with impressive influence in UP. But to gain national stature, it needs the help of the Congress which is in power across the country in many states from north to south and north-east. If the SP joins the Congress to fight the Lok Sabha elections and come up with an impressive number of seats in the home state of Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam will be able to strike a good bargain in the formation of a government at the Centre led by Sonia Gandhi.



Political consequences of Taj controversy

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati is in deep trouble. Now with the Supreme Court directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file an FIR (First Information Report or a criminal complaint) against her on the Rs 175-crore Taj Heritage Corridor Project in the days to come, Mayawati is bound to face lot of grilling attack from her rivals for alleged nepotism and corrupt dealings.

The ordering of registration of FIRs will enable the CBI to conduct a regular criminal investigation into the scam. As it was alleged that by undertaking the Taj project, several environmental laws were also violated, the Bench empowered the CBI to include the charges against them under these statutes also.

The Taj Heritage corridor encompasses five important monuments - the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Rambagh, Itmad-ud-Daula and Chini ka Roja - and it was assessed that the massive project, including reclamation of the river-bed, would endanger the monuments, besides spoiling their beauty.

Besides Mayawati, the others against whom FIRs were ordered to be registered are: the former Union Environment Secretary, K.C. Mishra; the Managing Director of the National Project Construction Corporation (which took up the construction of the project), S.C. Bali; the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary, D.S. Bagga; the former State Principal Environment Secretary, R.K. Sharma; the former State Environment Secretary, V.K. Gupta, and the former Principal Secretary to Ms. Mayawati, P.L. Punia.

In its report, the CBI had alleged that commencement of work under the project was approved by Mayawati. When the scandal came to light, Mayawati declared her innocence and attempted to distance herself from the project by claiming that she was kept in the dark about it by the bureaucracy. She also attempted to deflect attention by ordering a probe into the controversy and nominating her Chief Secretary to head it. How a project that had an estimated outlay of Rs. 175 crores and involved the construction of a string of shopping malls and entertainment parks behind the Taj Mahal could have been initiated without the former Chief Minister’s knowledge (leave alone her approval) was something that was never explained. To make matters worse, Mayawati tried to implicate Union Tourism Minister Jagmohan and claimed that he was aware of the project. She also demanded from Prime Minister Vajpayee that the Minister should be sacked. That infuriated the BJP leadership and the fate of Maywati was sealed the moment the Prime Minister took a tough line and made it clear that a Prime Minister cannot be dictated to by a Chief Minister. Though, she backtracked on the Jagmohan issue, Mayawati was not the one to easily forget a public political snubbing. So when the Supreme Court took note of the scandal, and asked the CBI to get to the bottom of the issue, her fate was sealed. She tried to deflect criticism by accusing the BJP of “political vendetta” by unleashing the CBI on her.

The CBI’s inquiry into the matter painted a completely different picture of the sequence of events that led to the commencement of work on the project. It suggested that the file was sent to Mayawati for approval. Some of the details that emerged while the CBI was finalising its Taj corridor report were shocking. They pointed towards a complete disregard for rules and procedures while clearing the project, a shoddy attempt to doctor the files and a collaborative attempt to suppress the truth.

Observers believe that it isn’t only her role in the Taj project which is going to haunt Mayawati. She may face other cases as well relating to her alleged wealth and property. Irrespective of their outcome, the political fallout of these legal entanglements is bound to be damaging. As it is, her party has drastically split in UP, adding to Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav’s numbers in the state Assembly, although her dalit (low caste) vote bank has seemingly remained intact. But if the cases drag on, the former Chief Minister may not find it easy to retain her earlier influence. A realisation that the situation has taken an adverse turn may have persuaded her to say that she is not wholly averse to making up with her former allies. She is willing to forgive even the Samajwadi Party (SP) if it apologises for the attack on her by its supporters in 1995.

But, according to observers, as Mayawati copes with her problems, it is once again clear that the Dalits have not been well served by their champions. From the time of Ambedkar’s Independent Labour Party to the Scheduled Castes Federation and then to the fragmented Republican parties, no organisation claiming to represent the Dalits has proved to be truly beneficial for them. Mayawati may be able to overcome her troubles. But the prospects are not too bright at the moment, say observers.



Making up with Congress ?

In a significant development, Mayawati has praised Congress president Sonia Gandhi for inquiring about the health of BSP chief Kanshi Ram and said that those claiming to be a champion of Hinduism and its culture should take cue from her.

“Ever since the BSP chief has been admitted to a city hospital in Delhi, no senior BJP leader inquired about the health of Kanshi Ram. Those claiming to be the champions of Hindu religion and culture should learn a lesson from Sonia Gandhi, whom they dub as a foreigner”, Mayawati said in Delhi, a day after the Supreme Court directed the CBI to file an FIR against her in the Taj corridor project case.

Appreciating Sonia Gandhi’s “humanitarian” gesture, the BSP vice-president said the Congress chief, during her long years in India, has learned about Indian culture and her telephone call to inquire about Kanshi Ram’s health was a result of that learning. “She has fully learnt about the Indian culture”, Mayawati said.

The 16 Congress members of the UP Assembly have extended their outside support to the new state government led by Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati’s bete noire in state politics. Her positive remarks on Sonia Gandhi are being viewed in political circles as an indication of thaw in ties between the two political parties ahead of forthcoming Assembly elections in five states, where dalits constitute a sizeable population.

Despite appeals by the Chief Minister, Sonia Gandhi has not yet made up her mind on the issue of the Congress joining the UP coalition. She is reportedly weighing the options of going along with the SP or the BSP. While the SP with its clout will seize a chunk of the seats at the time of Lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh, the BSP may be willing to be more reasonable, considering the national status of the Congress. Besides, the SP vote bank is the same as coveted by the Congress-Muslims, Yadavs and Thakurs. But the Congress is more keen on getting a slice of the dalit vote base, in the coming assembly elections in the four northern states as well as Lok Sabha polls next year. That’s the reason while a section of the UP Congress wants to share power with the SP, the central leadership of the Congress is not taking any hurried decision.

In this context, the Sonia gesture to Kanshi Ram is more of political nature, than anything personal. If it was meant to extend an olive branch, the message has sunk home judging by the praise showered by Mayawati on her. The BJP has been hoping for a possible patch-up with the BSP later and does not want Mayawati to embrace Sonia’s Congress. But finding herself in a major political jam, Mayawati, according to observers, is willing to join anybody who can help her. For the moment, however, her anger is entirely directed towards the “Manuvadi” (the upper caste based) BJP for letting her down.