Sharad Yadav puts pressure on
PM to include Hegde in his cabinet
Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has made it clear to Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav that there was no way he would include former commerce minister and Lokshakti chief Ramakrishna Hegde in the union council of ministers. Sources said he told Yadav at a recent meeting that the JD (U)' s ministerial quota had been met.
Out of the 20 JD (U) MPs, four have been given cabinet berths and two others have been
accommodated as ministers of state.
The JD (U) president met the prime minister thrice in the last six days but failed to convince him of the need to give Hegde a cabinet berth.
Now, the political face-off between the JD (U) president and the prime minister threatens to snowball into a major controversy the fallout of which could have long-term implications for the National Democratic Alliance government.
According to well-placed sources, Yadav met Telecommunications Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and some other party colleagues late last night to decide on the future course of action.
Earlier, he had also sought the ''personal support'' of his cabinet colleagues belonging to the Yadav community like Dinesh Chandra Yadav, Devendra Prasad Yadav and Nawal Kishore Rai. "Our efforts to include Hegde in the government will continue during the ongoing Parliament session," a party MP close to Sharad Yadav said.
What has angered the BJP leadership is the JD (U) leaders' efforts to corner the government on important policy matters to exert pressure on Vajpayee.
BJP sources pointed out that Sharad yadav and some of his party colleagues had taken to criticising the
Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of India ( TRAI ) bill, the Insurance Regulatory Authority ( IRA ) bill and the women's reservation bill. "The BJP leadership is not amused at the prospect of cabinet ministers like Sharad Yadav criticising the government on policy matters,'' said a source.
However, when the reports last came in the prime minister had showed no signs of caving in to the pressure. Besides Home Minister L K Advani, senior ministers belonging to other NDA constituent parties have urged the prime minister to stand firm against the bullying tactics of the JD (U) chief and his men.
The party has also begun working on its own formulation to neutralise Yadav. The party's main weapon against Yadav is Defence Minister George Fernandes. A campaign has been already launched to
paint Fernandes as the architect of JD (U)'s victory in Bihar.
Sources close to Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha pointed out that
although the BJP leadership did not want to aggravate matters, it would not
tolerate indiscipline within the ruling alliance.
"Vajpayeeji has full authority to make any decisions he wants. Everybody is behind him, including the RSS. Therefore, rebels raising the banner of revolt against the prime minister are doing so at their own risk," a source pointed out.
ALSO SEE:
Sharad Yadav offers Hegde party leadership
Hegde reviewing ties with JD-U
Fernandes blamed for Hegde's exclusion
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