Where credit is due

From Narendra Modi to L K Advani, BJP leaders let no opportunity go by to take credit for the formation of the state of Uttarakhand during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance regime. But party leaders were dumbfounded when Satpal Maharaj, who recently crossed the floor to jettison the Congress in favour of the BJP, claimed that he, too, played a big role during the tenure of the United Front governments. During his first visit to Dehradun after he joined the saffron party, Maharaj said he was instrumental in persuading then Prime Ministers H D Deve Gowda and I K Gujral to make announcements on the formation of Uttarakhand from the ramparts of the Red Fort. First, he said, "Maha Purush" Gowda made the announcement in 1996 and Gujral followed suit a year later. Maharaj even mentioned Jyoti Basu, former chief minister of West Bengal, saying it was due to his efforts that the late Marxist leader stopped opposing the formation of the hill state. In other words, the floor-crossing MP from Pauri Garhwal did not give credit to the party he had just joined for a major achievement.