Gujral refuses to give finance to Communists, hopes Chidambaram will return

George Iype in New Delhi

Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral has kept the finance portfolio, hoping he would be able to prevail upon the Tamil Manila Congress leadership to spare former finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram to join the United Front government.

But despite Chidambaram's departure from the UF coalition, Gujral's government on Monday decided to aggressively endorse his market-friendly dream Budget for fiscal 1997-98. A special session of Parliament has been called from April 30 to introduce the Finance Bill and pass Chidambaram's Budget, the government announced on Monday.

Many believe this is a deft move by the prime minister to pacify the TMC leadership which has opted out of the new government after G K Moopanar lost the race for the premiership to Gujral.

UF sources said Gujral decided to hold charge of the finance portfolio with the specific intention of roping in Chidambaram and other TMC ministers before April 30.

Gujral is expected to make no major changes in the Budget as he believes the success of the Deve Gowda regime's economic reforms was mainly Chidambaram's handiwork.

Soon after the swearing-in ceremony, the prime minister said the economic and foreign policies pursued by the Deve Gowda government will be ''sustained and further strengthened.''

Whether Gujral will succeed in winning over the architect of the Deve Gowda regime's economic reform programmes or not, the UF leaders are certain that Chidambaram's absence will not cast any shadow on the liberalisation policies.

"The economic reform programmes are irreversible," Commerce Minister Bolla Buli Ramaiah told Rediff On the NeT.

He said the corporates and investors can be rest assured that the new UF government's policies will be to maintain the momentum of economic and industrial growth in the country.

Meanwhile, efforts are on to persuade Moopanar and Chidambaram to participate in the government. Gujral sent two of emissaries -- Cabinet Ministers Balwant Singh Ramoowalia and Chand Mahal Ibrahim -- to hold talks with the Tamil leaders.

"We are still persuading the TMC leaders to forgive and forget and rejoin the government," UF spokesperson S Jaipal Reddy told Rediff On The NeT.

He said the prime minister is confident that he will persuade Moopanar to reconsider the TMC decision. "However, the prime minister will pilot the Finance Bill in Parliament if the TMC sticks to its decision," Reddy said, adding that the new government expects no hurdles in the passage of the Budget.

But TMC general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Peter Alphonse said there is no question of revoking his party's decision and joining the government.

"We have been deeply hurt by the backroom maneuvering of some UF constituents against our leader Moopanar," he said.

UF sources said sensing that Chidambaram is no longer the finance minister, the Left parties have pitched hard for grabbing the finance portfolio.

The main Left parties -- the Communist Party of India-Marxist and the Communist Party of India wanted Gujral to hand over the finance portfolio to Home Minister Indrajit Gupta.

Gupta, one of the two CPI Cabinet ministers, is said to have eyed the coveted ministry time and again. He has said he feels 'constrained and straight-jacketed' in his present ministry.

Gupta also told a private television channel recently. "I need a ministry which gives you more scope for taking initiatives on your own. I would not mind an economic ministry, commerce, industry or labour."

But the prime minister refused to heed the Left's ambitious demand, fearing that giving the crucial finance ministry to the anti-reform Communists will stall the UF government's economic initiatives.