Cabinet's loss need not be NDA's, hopes BJP

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, OCT. 2. The BJP is not taking too seriously reports that the Trinamool Congress could be moving away from the National Democratic Alliance in order to forge an electoral pact with the Congress(I) for the Assembly elections due in March next year.

And by saying that it will concentrate on flood relief work, it is virtually signalling that Central action against the State is ruled out for the moment.

Senior party leaders here are of the opinion that although Ms. Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool president, may indeed press her resignation from the Cabinet, she will not opt out of the NDA. In fact, the party is hoping that the Prime Minister will be able to persuade her to at least allow her colleague, Mr. Ajit Panja, to continue in the Government.

The party is of the view that the Trinamool constituency in Bengal is stridently anti-Left as well as pro- Vajpayee even if not pro-BJP. This will prevent her from going for an alliance with the Congress(I) which is not seen as being strongly anti- Left.

The BJP's West Bengal unit which had presented a report on the political and flood situation in the State to the national executive committee meeting yesterday, held further discussions with central party office-bearers on the political situation there today.

The Trinamool withdrawal from the Central Government apparently did not figure at the meeting which was attended by all State unit presidents and general secretaries.

Rollback ruled out

Senior BJP leaders also virtually ruled out any rollback in the prices of petroleum products saying the Centre had imposed only one-third of the total burden of the oilpool deficit on the consumers. One view is that the uneasy relationship with the Trinamool will continue and Ms. Banerjee may continue making some populist statements, even critical of Government decisions, but she will continue her alliance with the NDA.

As one senior leader remarked, ``If she is preparing to be the Chief Minister of Bengal she needs to show that she is a responsible politicians.'' In short, she cannot afford the luxury of theatrics.

The State's report on the political situation was along expected lines, with accusations of political murders against the CPI(M) and use of administrative machinery against political opponents. The BJP's charge was that as the CPI(M) was losing its grip on the rural areas, its cadres were letting loose a reign of terror to subjugate the people. The report gave a long list of BJP workers killed during political clashes over the last few years.

Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu, who briefed reporters, did add that while the party will ``pursue this issue, the focus will be on flood relief work''. It was another way of saying that for the time being the BJP is not going to emphasise its demand for some Central action against the State Government.

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