Dmk Ministers May Not Actually Quit

The DMKs move appears to be a bid to hit at former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.

Senior DMK leaders reportedly told some Left leaders yesterday that they would not withdraw the four ministers from the government, and that their announcement was mainly intended to rein in Gowda.

DMK leaders disapproved of Gowdas moves which, they perceive, led to the eventual split of the Janata Dal, leading to weakening of the Front government. They are also unhappy with Gowdas reported overtures to MDMK, the DMKs splinter group in Tamil Nadu.

The DMK wants to avoid a mid-term poll, come what may. They want the United Front to settle its house before it is too late. And they have chosen this occasion to attack all those who want to break the Front, a senior Left leader who spoke to DMK leaders said.

CPI(M) general secretary H S Surjeet, however, sought to play down the crisis and said that differences would be sorted out at the meeting of the United Front steering committee on July 17. Gowda, on his part, concurred with Surjeet and said a solution would emerge once all leaders of the Front sit together and discuss the issue.

Asked about DMK chief Karunanidhis statement that some Front leaders were pursuing their personal agenda, Gowda said unless he knew who those leaders were, he would not comment.

Gowda, however, indicated that there was a lack of effective cooperation among several United Front constituents, which was not the case when he was the Prime Minister for ten months.

During ten months of my government, none of the UF constituents had shown discourtesy to me and I got cooperation from all of them, Gowda said.

Public postures nothwithstanding, Left leaders agreed that the DMKs move had raised certain issues which needed urgent attention.

The DMKs decision has definitely some serious implications for the Front and its government and all of us should put our heads together to arrive at some solution, a senior Left leader said.

According to Left leaders, the issue involving Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav was just one of the many issues which compelled the DMK to go for such an extreme step. They are upset with the TMC on may counts, one of them being the treatment given to Union minister for state for petroleum TR Balu on the issue of oil price hike. DMK was opposed to the inclusion of Jayanti Natarajan in the Union ministry.

Another reason could be the issue of vice-president. DMK is not averse to Akali Dal leader SS Barnala for the post while others in the Front are not in his favour, the Left leader said.

Moreover, the Left parties stand on Laloo Prasad Yadav also upset the DMK. A Left leader admitted that the DMK would have found it hard to oppose an OBC Chief Minister.