Laloo Yadav, Deve Gowda rift worsening

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Janata Dal President Laloo Prasad Yadav's refusal to attend Friday's steering committee core group meeting of the United Front has brought into sharp focus the widening chasm between him and Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.

The core group meeting of the United Front was chaired by Deve Gowda at his Race Course Road residence. The others who attended it were Mulayam Singh Yadav, Chandrababu Naidu, A B Bardhan, and G K Moopanar. While other Front leaders like Jyoti Basu and M Karunanidhi could not attend due to preoccupations, the Janata Dal president's absence was apparently because of his widening rift with the prime minister.

When asked on Saturday why Laloo Yadav had stayed away from the meeting, Janata Dal Working President Sharad Yadav replied, "Why don't you ask Laloo Yadav?"

According to Leftist leaders of the United Front government, Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Yadav has let Deve Gowda know through the federal Information and Broadcasting Minister C M Ibrahim that if he is ignored any further by the United Front leadership, he would not be responsible for any instability in the 13-party ruling political combine. It is understood that Deve Gowda was not at all amused at receiving the Laloo Yadav's message from Ibrahim!

Laloo Yadav's reference to instability in the United Front has been construed by the Front leadership, particularly by Deve Gowda, as a latent threat. In his meetings with his followers in Delhi, Laloo Yadav has repeatedly emphasised that if the prime minister fails to restrain the Central Bureau of Investigation regarding the animal husbandry scam in which he is allegedly involved, there is little point in the survival of the United Front.

Laloo Yadav has often told his supporters that his relationship with the prime minister is based on quid pro quo "you-take-care-of-me-I-take-care-of-you" principle. It is understood that the Janata Dal president has also told Ibrahim that there are charges of corruption against Deve Gowda too, and that the fodder scam is not the only scandal involving United Front leaders.

Recently, Laloo Yadav tried to procure the two books written by former member of Parliament K Venkatgiri Gowda. The two controversial books contain details of the allegedly illegitimate wealth procured by the prime minister and his family members. Deve Gowda has succeeded in restricting the circulation of these two controversial books in Karnataka.

The bad blood between Laloo Yadav and Deve Gowda increased after the prime minister excluded the Laloo Yadav from his breakfast meeting of United Front leaders, held recently at Andhra Bhavan in New Delhi. Deve Gowda also made a token appearance at the fag end of Laloo Yadav's iftaar party at the New Bihar Bhavan in New Delhi, further infuriating the Bihar chief minister.

Matters came to a head on Friday when Deve Gowda also did not invite Laloo Yadav to the meeting of the core group. A Janata Dal Rajya Sabha member confirmed that Laloo Yadav has told his supporters that if the UF leaders did not "bail" him out in the fodder scandal, he would ensure that Deve Gowda too was in the "hot seat" regarding various scandals. Laloo Yadav reportedly said that he has documentary evidence regarding various scandals involving other United Front leaders.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that at the iftaar party on Friday of Ibrahim, his supporters said that Deve Gowda had made up his mind about adopting a hard stance against Laloo Yadav if he was chargesheeted in the fodder scam.