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Coalition panel backs government against Bhagwat

George Iype in New Delhi

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee government today managed to deflect the controversy caused by Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat's dismissal as the Indian Navy chief when its coalition partners did not press for a joint parliamentary committee to go into the charges of corruption levelled by him.

But the meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition's co-ordination committee, chaired by Prime Minister Vajpayee at his residence, saw All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary J Jayalalitha in a combative mood, berating Defence Minister George Fernandes for dismissing Bhagwat.

Sources said Jayalalitha spoke at great length and in detail as to how the some of the controversial decisions and actions of Fernandes have "demoralised the armed forces in the country and brought disrepute to the ministry of defence".

Jayalalitha is said to have particularly pointed to Fernandes's "links with the LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]" and accused the defence minister of "becoming an embarrassment for the government and the country".

She demanded an explanation from Vajpayee as to why his defence minister was behaving in such an odd manner.

In an attempt to pacify her, Vajpayee and Fernandes agreed that the defence minister would meet Jayalalitha separately and appraise her of the circumstances leading to the Bhagwat's ouster.

Jayalalitha left the meeting 10 minutes before it ended. Therefore, sources said, she is not a party to the decision not to institute a JPC into Bhagwat's charges.

But BJP politicians and Fernandes claimed that every coalition partner, including the AIADMK, had agreed to the committee's resolution to reject a JPC inquiry into l'affaire Bhagwat.

The meeting, convened by the government in haste in view of Jayalalitha's visit to Delhi, was meant to steal a march over the Opposition confabulations led by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy in recent days to topple Vajpayee's coalition.

But for the moment, the prime minister seems to have succeeded in convincing his allies about the government's performance over the past year as most partners came out of the meeting expressing solidarity with him.

Fernandes, against whom the Opposition and Bhagwat have raised serious allegations of wrongdoing in an arms deal, was the only person who came out hurt. "I told our allies that I am ready to present to them all the facts that led to the dismissal of Admiral Bhagwat," he told reporters.

Fernandes, who is also chairman of the co-ordination committee, said all the partners "unanimously endorsed" the government's view that there is no need for a JPC to probe the naval chief's dismissal.

"Jayalalitha expressed her views on the issue. But the committee agreed that the government need not institute a JPC," he said.

Asked if Jayalalitha had endorsed the government's position, Fernandes said: "Jaylalitha is a partner in the coalition government and therefore party to all decisions that are taken."

Sources said Fernandes arrived for the meeting armed with a host of important files to give the allies the reasons for Bhagwat's dismissal.

When Jayalalitha pressed for a detailed presentation, the defence minister assured the allies that "I am ready to be questioned by you all at any time you want".

But since the coalition meeting was scheduled to last just one hour, it was agreed that Fernandes would brief Jayalalitha on the issue separately at a mutually convenient time.

Vajpayee and Fernandes also explained to the alliance leaders the implications to national security if a JPC is set up to go into Bhagwat's dismissal.

Vajpayee also described the stalling of parliamentary proceedings by the Opposition, demanding a JPC on the charges made by Bhagwat and Mohan Guruswamy, former adviser to Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, as attempts to shake the government.

Though most allies are said to be satisfied with the arguments put forward by the prime minister and his defence minister, AIADMK politicians said Jayalalitha would discuss the matter further with Vajpayee and Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani tomorrow.

For his part, Vajpayee used the co-ordination committee meeting to present a progress card of his government. He said the government's achievements -- the historic bus trip to Lahore, bilateral peace talks with Pakistan to reduce nuclear tensions in the region, progressive talks with the United States and China, splendid agricultural output, and a "brilliant" national budget -- showed the coalition is strong and stable.

In an attempt to prove that the government is serious in implementing its national agenda of governance, the meeting decided to set up a committee to include regional languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

It also decided to establish a national judicial commission and discuss necessary amendments that would enable more than 50 per cent reservation in government jobs.

BJP politicians claimed the prime minister had succeeded in getting assurances of continued support from all the alliance partners.

But BJP and government managers are, nonetheless, nervously waiting for the much-publicised tea party to be hosted by Dr Swamy for Jayalalitha on Monday, March 29, where allies like Jayalalitha and Trinamul Congress politician Mamata Bannerjee will get a chance to meet opposition stalwarts, including, possibly, Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Earlier Report

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