Storm in Lok Sabha over Sengupta's appointment

Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral will answer queries on the appointment of Bhabani Sengupta as officer on special duty in the prime minister's office on Wednesday.

Sengupta's appointment had rocked the proceedings in the Lok Sabha in the pre-lunch session because of his well-known opposition to vital aspects of India's foreign policy. Members wanted to know how such appointments were made without properly checking the antecedents.

K L Sharma (BJP) said Gujral's clarifications would be infructuous as Sengupta would assume charge at 3 pm on Tuesday. BJP members said Sengupta should not be allowed to join duty till the prime minister clarified his position.

In the morning the issue was raised by former prime minister Chandra Shekhar who quoted a letter in an American newspaper by Sengupta on May 30, 1974, condemning India's peaceful nuclear test and seeking sanctions if it refused to stop nuclear tests.

Chandra Shekhar was supported by the CPI-M's Rupchand Pal, the BJP's Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pramod Mahajan, the Congress's Santosh Mohan Deb and R L Bhatia and the Shiv Sena's Madhukar Sarpotdar.

Chandra Shekhar said he had written to the prime minister urging him to relieve Sengupta. Cautioning the government against such officials and the nefarious nature of their designs, he said the country's security could be put in jeopardy.

Vajpayee said there was no indication that Sengupta had changed his views since 1974. Irrespective of whether he was a man of strong convictions or working under some pressure, he should not have been kept in such a senior position, the former premier said.