President refuses to dismiss Rabri
President K R Narayanan finally ended the suspense on the fate of the Rashtriya Janata Dal government in Bihar when he asked the Union Cabinet to reconsider its recommendation that Chief Minister Rabri Devi's ministry be dismissed and the assembly be placed in a state of 'suspended animation'.
Rashtrapati Bhavan sources said late on Friday night that the President had communicated his decision to the government, but refused to elaborate, saying it was up to the government to make it public.
Narayanan's decision came after almost three days of hectic consultations with legal and constitutional experts and meetings with delegations from various political parties.
This is the second time President Narayanan has turned down a recommendation by the Union government to dismiss a state government. Last year, the United Front government led by Inder Kumar Gujral had faced considerable embarrassment when the President had returned its advice that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government in Uttar Pradesh led by Kalyan Singh be dismissed.
Ironically, the same BJP has now been embarrassed by the President's action.
The government has two options now. The first, of course, is to gracefully accept the President's rejection of its advice. This was the course of action followed by the Gujral government. That was how Kalyan Singh came to be reinstated as chief minister.
The other, more confrontationist option is to recommend a second time that the RJD government be dismissed. According to most legal experts, the President will then have no option but to accept the advice.
But there was no indication from the government or BJP sources as to what the government's course of action would be. BJP vice-president Kishen Lal Sharma told Rediff On The NeT that the government would take a formal decision on the President's move only after September 30 when Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee returns from his foreign tour.
Sharma said the Cabinet would meet informally tomorrow with Home Minister Lal Kishinchand Advani in the chair to take stock of the situation following the President's decision.
In Patna, RJP chief Laloo Prasad Yadav was ecstatic and said the President's decision was "a defeat of the fascist and communal forces". He praised the President for having "upheld the Constitution" and "saved democracy".
Asked to comment on this, Sharma said, "I would not like to jump to conclusions like Laloo Yadav. It will be inappropriate for me to comment on this issue until the Cabinet gives its final decision."
Asked whether BJP leaders had been taken aback by the President's decision, he said, "No, we had always kept the option open."
Syed Firdaus Ashraf,UNI
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