TMC will not join Gujral govt

George Iype and Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Delhi

Inder Kumar Gujral's selection as Prime Minister H D Gowda's successor has created more problems for the United Front.

Soon after Gujral's selection on Saturday evening, the Tamil Maanila Congress, one of the key UF partners, pulled out of the coalition, accusing the UF leadership of questioning the political integrity of TMC president G K Moopanar.

The TMC's decision not to participate in the Gujral regime has serious implications for the UF coalition as the government's economic architect, Palaniappan Chidambaram, will cease to be the finance minister. TMC leaders claimed their decision to leave the government stems from a "series of humiliating gestures" that various UF leaders made towards the party this week.

"We felt humiliated that the UF partners questioned the political and personal integrity of our leader Moopanar," senior TMC leader and Lok Sabha MP S R Balasubramaniam told Rediff On The NeT.

When Moopanar broke away from the Congress before last year's general election, he and his followers in Tamil Nadu were suspended, not expelled, from the Congress.

Moopanar, then a Rajya Sabha MP from the Congress party, continued to remain so even after he formed the TMC and beat the parent party in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

But when the question of electing Moopanar as Deve Gowda's successor came up this week, the Left parties as well as a section of Janata Dal leaders protested, saying it could not be done as he still remains a Congress MP.

TMC leaders found this a deft move to turn the tables on Moopanar who was all set to become prime minister.

"It is surprising that the UF partners suddenly found our esteemed leader unacceptable to them on technical grounds," Balasubramaniam observed.

Alleging that the UF leadership showed double standards towards the TMC, he said: "They enjoyed our support for the last 10 months. TMC leader and Finance Minister P Chidambaram has been ranked the best in the Deve Gowda government. How can the UF leadership forget everything in the spurt of a moment?"

TMC sources said ever since Congress president Sitaram Kesri withdrew support to the Deve Gowda government on March 30, Moopanar has been acclaimed as the frontrunner for the prime minister's post.

The Janata Dal's unwillingness to hand over the top post to any other UF constituent as well as the Left parties's stiff opposition to Moopanar's candidature forced the TMC to leave the coalition in a huff.

One TMC leader said some of the top Left leaders had described Moopanar as "a loyal servant of Sonia Gandhi" and "a protege of Sitaram Kesri."

"We are happy to give the UF government outside support as we cannot remain inside and continue in ignominy," he told Rediff On The NeT.

Political analysts believe the TMC's decision will have wide-reaching implications for Gujral's government as the new prime minister will find it difficult to find a replacement for Finance Minister Chidambaram.

Secondly, the TMC's decision will help Kesri consolidate his plans to rope in the TMC and other regional parties to form a Congress-led government in the future.

That the TMC leaders were in an angry mood was evident as both Moopanar and Chidambaram arrived very late for the UF steering committee meeting.

TMC sources said Moopanar nearly broke into tears when UF convenor N Chandrababu Naidu informed him that Gujral had emerged as the consensus choice for the premiership.

Soon after Gujral's selection was announced, the group of 20 TMC MPs decided not to participate in the new government, but only to extend support to it from outside.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting held at Moopanar's Western Court home.

All four TMC members in the outgoing ministry -- P Chidambaram, M Arunachalam, S R Balasubramaniam and Dhanushkodi Athithan -- attended the meeting which was presided over by Moopanar.

The meeting, however, bore no ill-feeling for Gujral, congratulated him on his selection as UF leader and reiterated the party's commitment to the United Front after a ''careful review of the latest developments.''

TMC parliamentary party leader N S V Chithan said his party has taken this decision after reviewing the political situation and the role of various United Front constituents.

A large number of TMC leaders anxiously waited outside Moopanar's home to know the party's decision. Many felt that Moopanar was ditched by other UF constituents.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader M Karunanidhi described the TMC's decision to opt out of the UF government as "sad and surprising" and appealed to the TMC leadership to reconsider it. The TMC is an ally of the DMK in Tamil Nadu.