Janata Dal To Change Laws To Clip Party Chiefs Wings

The Janata Dal is expected to amend its constitution to curtail the powers of the party president. The exercise is intended to maintain a balance among all party institutions.

A five-member committee is likely to be constituted soon to suggest amendments to the constitution, and its recommendations are expected to be adopted at the national executive scheduled for the first week of October. The committee is likely to be led by secretary general Bapu Kaldate.

Kaldate had written to all state units to suggest amendments early this month. So far, only two state units have responded.

The issue figured at the national executive meeting, when Kaldate was authorised to work out the details. Senior leaders had observed at the meeting that the partys image had suffered due to the controversy during the presidential election in June.

The matter went to the court and it was at the courts intervention that elections were completed.

A senior Janata Dal said that during the run-up to the election, there was considerable confusion about the role of the political affairs committee (PAC), the national executive and the secretariat.

The impression was that all powers were concentrated in the post of president, he added.

This needs to be changed. We should give all the institutions their due. There should be proper delegation of power to all the party units. If our constitution was not vague, perhaps we could have avoided the Laloo Prasad Yadav episode, the party leader said.