Presidents Rule In Up; Cong, Bjp Denounce Uf

The Congresss stiff opposition to the move could push it a little further along the road to withdrawing support to the front at some point. In the short term, it could make it impossible for the government to get either house of Parliament to approve the move. That could lead to a constitutional crisis.

The move was in any case widely criticised for militating against the spirit of the Constitution, which specifies that Presidents rule may not continue for more than a year. Constitutional experts were divided but many felt the move was legally questionable.

A senior Congress leader revealed that Attorney General Ashok Desai had initially advised that a chief minister should be installed before Presidents rule could be reimposed. He was reportedly told by law ministry officials that the Prime Minister wanted a different advice and so told the law ministry to send up an ambiguous note.

An irate BJP launched agitations and announced that its first priority now would be to bring down the UF government. Leaders of the party spoke of a conspiracy against it, after the experiences of its governments in Gujarat and at the centre.

There were murmurs of discontent even among some Janata Dal leaders, who said the front had been weakened because of Mulayam Singhs obstinacy and Gowdas backing for him. One of them pointed out that Congress chief Sitaram Kesari salvaged the Congress alliance with the BSP after Kanshi Ram had given him a deadline to persuade the Front on Mayawatis candidature by saying the days of Congress support to the UF were now numbered.

A UF minister expressed the hope that government could be installed in a few days after a compromise between the SP and BSP. That could make the constitutional crisis caused by Parliament not ratifying the presidential notification only an academic problem.