Congress on brink of open revolt against Kesri

A section of Congress MPs were up in arms on Saturday night over the party leadership's decision to vote out the United Front government and demanded an emergency meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party to end the political crisis.

The MPs, from various factions, castigated Congress president Sitaram Kesri for pushing the party to the brink without any strategy to form an alternate government.

''We want to know whether some of the UF constituents went back on their promise to help the Congress to form a government or whether the leadership cheated the members,'' one of them told a meeting of MPs convened by Sharad Pawar, leader of the party in the Lok Sabha.

Pawar told the MPs he would convey their strong feelings to Kesri. Some MPs even wanted Pawar to convene the meeting if Kesri did not approve of the idea.

According to sources, as the members began attacking the leadership, senior leaders K Karunakaran and Ghulam Nabi Azad left the venue in a huff. Karunakaran and Azad parried questions from waiting newspersons who had assembled outside Pawar's home.

Some MPs strongly criticised the role of some Rajya Sabha leaders for pushing the party into taking rash decisions, Kesri being the Rajya Sabha member hinted at. The MPs also pointed out that these leaders had never fought elections.

Former information and broadcasting minister P Upendra said the leadership did not have a strategy, though it claimed it would form the government. Fifteen days had passed since the party staked its claim to form a government, he said, and still no regional party has come forward to support the Congress effort.

According to MPs who attended the stormy session, former Maharashtra chief minister A R Antulay came out openly against Kesri, demanding his resignation. Antulay said he wanted to speak in favour of the motion on Friday and vote according to his conscience -- meaning in favour of the UF government.

''I asked Mr Pawar thrice whether I could vote according to his conscience, but Mr Pawar turned it down saying I should obey the whip," Antulay said, heaping fire on the CWC decision to withdraw support to the government without taking the party into confidence.

Antulay questioned the legitimacy of the present CWC and said all its members should resign. Friday was the worst day in his 30-year-old political career, he said, claiming he failed to understand the logic behind the whip and Kesri's action. He scathingly described the Congress as a ''terminally ill patient which is on the death bed, the funeral yet to be performed.''

Though Antulay is a known opponent of Pawar in Maharashtra politics, he urged the former defence minister to take the lead in correcting the situation.

''The time has come when Congress MPs will have to strike at the root of the evil and rejuvenate the party,'' he said. The MPs present at the meeting cheered him on.

Antulay said the biggest blunder he had committed in his life was to endorse Kesri's candidature as the CPP leader.

A C Jose, a close associate of CWC member A K Antony, also complained about the way the party leadership had forced MPs to face a mid-term poll, saying, ''We are not unduly worried about the polls but the country cannot afford such an exercise within 10 months.''

Jose also spoke of the United Democratic Front's experiment in Kerala where the Congress, though it had a larger presence, made the Communist Party of India leader Achutha Menon chief minister.

Mamta Banerjee demanded that Kesri should step down since he had virtually hanged Congress MPs without a trial.

''We are meeting today (Saturday) after the death sentence has been pronounced.'' she said, stating she strongly favoured that the CPP be convened to to discuss the explosive situation. Dr Y S Rajashekara Reddy, known to be close to dissident leader Rajesh Pilot, described the withdrawal of support as a ''hasty decision.''