Congress Under Pressure To Topple Govt

Senior Congress leaders are under pressure from other Opposition groups to try and replace the BJP-led government with an alternate coalition. Some Congress leaders acknowledge that, given the rifts within the current coalition, they could quite easily instal an alternative but say that many of them, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, are reluctant to form what would inevitably be a messy situation.

The government's mishandling of the fallout of the nuclear tests has gone a long way to bring the Opposition groups together. Many smaller groups such as the Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Bahujan Samaj Party are eagerly pushing for a change. Some of the senior leaders of these parties complain that their workers are being victimised.

They also point to the opportunity provided by the suspension of support by Mamata Bannerjee's Trinamool Congress, the increasing disenchantment with the Centre of J Jayalalitha's AIADMK and the unease in the Biju Janata Dal.

In these circumstances, they say, the government could easily be brought down over one of the many budget-related votes that have to be taken, next week and in early August.

Some of them hope to be able to get the support of some of these smaller coalition partners, or at least sections of these parties. One of the senior Congress leaders who has been authorised to negotiate with other parties say the Biju Janata Dal is ready to split, as are some of the other groups in the BJP-led coalition.

A section of Samata Party leaders, for example, are upset at being left out of the ministry. Abdul Ghafoor and Digvijay Singh in particular are said to be willing to split their party if they are not given berths in the next ministry expansion.

Some Congress leaders too believe that they should pull the government down. They argue that the government seems to be pushing the country towards war, that its budget might land the economy in more of a mess and that the Sangh parivar is obviously preparing to put up a grand temple in Ayodhya whenever it wants the BJP to head for fresh elections. "It is our duty to remove them in these circumstances."

Other Congress leaders argue that the BJP's popularity would soar if it were brought down so soon after the nuclear tests. They do not want to project the Congress as being power hungry. Plus, they argue that, although the disparate groups in the opposition are egging the Congress to lead a new government, there would be centripetal pulls from these very groups once a government was in place.

Some of them therefore argue that the Vajpayee government should be allowed to continue in power for another year or so, so that it can expose its flaws. These leaders argue that the euphoria caused by the tests will not last and that the inflation that the budget proposals are likely to cause will cost the BJP some of its support.

Although Congress president Sonia Gandhi has heard both types of arguments over the past few days, some leaders say they have the impression that she would rather wait than rush into power.