Congress will not reconsider support to UF: Karunakaran

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

Congress Working Committee member K Karunakaran says his party will not review its decision to withdraw support to the United Front government.

He told reporters on Thursday, April 3, that a solution to the crisis is possible only if Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda resigns."We are ready to discuss issues of mutual concern after the prime minister quits," he said.

The senior Congress leader indicated that his party is ready to face a mid-term election if the United Front is not willing to replace Deve Gowda with another leader.

The former Union minister is reiterating the now well-known position of his party that Deve Gowda is unacceptable to the Congress which alleges that he is out to cut it down to size.

Karunakaran claimed that the prime minister is hobnobbing with communal forces to fight the Congress, pointing out that the Janata Dal had sought the Bharatiya Janata Party's help even in Deve Gowda's panchayat to defeat the Congress.

Many constituents of the ruling coalition, he claimed, still treat the Congress as their main foe despite the party's unconditional support to the United Front.

The support to the UF government was given with a view to prevent the BJP from coming to power, which the Congress calls communal, Karunakaran pointed out . The developments in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, he claimed, are sufficient indication that the ruling coalition had completely failed in the task of keeping the BJP at bay. Both Punjab and Uttar Pradesh have governments with the BJP as a partner.

Karunakaran explained there was no point in the Congress continuing its support to the United Front under such circumstances.

He said the party had taken the decision to withdraw support after some loud thinking and giving ample opportunity to the government to mend its ways.

However, when the government was not amenable to any suggestions, he said there was no other alternative before the Congress but to withdraw support.

All the Congress Working Committee members were consulted by the party leadership before announcing the decision, Karunakaran clarified in reply to a question, adding that the step would not lead to a split within the party.

The Congress, Karunakaran said, will vote against the confidence motion that the prime minister is to move in the Lok Sabha, on April 11.

On the options available before the Congress after the confidence motion, he said the party is keeping its doors open for any kind of negotiation.

As of now, he revealed, the Congress is prepared to co-operate in getting the Budget passed by Parliament and will do everything possible to avoid a Constitutional crisis.