BJP joins issue with President

By Harish Khare

NEW DELHI, JAN. 26. The ruling BJP has decided to publicly disagree with the President of India over some of the observations made yesterday by Mr. K.R.Narayanan in his eve of the Republic Day customary address to the nation.

The party today took the extraordinary step of issuing a press statement in the name of its vice- president, Mr. K.Jana Krishnamurthi. The statement reads:`` The BJP can assure the President that India will never take the road which Pakistan has been taking. India can give birth only to Atal Behari Vajpayees and not to Ayub Khans.''

The President had cautioned against the growing penchant for ``stability'', especially in the context of the labours of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution.

Mr. Narayanan left no one in doubt that he was particularly unhappy that the ``Review Commission'' had invoked Mahatama Gandhi's name to suggest a rollback of democratic arrangement and was seen by many to have suggested indirect elections (of the kind that were introduced by Field Marshal Ayub Khan in Pakistan).

According to the BJP statement, any comparison with Ayub Khan's efforts `` is something which defies one's comprehension.''

Nor does Mr. Krishnamurthi share the President's misgivings about too much preoccupation with ``stability.'' He insists that ``today's political uncertainties have brought about a situation where political stability has become a cause of concern.''

The Jana Krishnamurthi statement, rather provocatively, comes close to accusing the President of a political inclination. The statement takes note of the fact that a section of the media had contrasted the Presidential remarks with the Prime Minister, Mr. Vajpayee's suggestion, a few days ago, of a fixed term for the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies.

Mr. Krishnamurthi further said that both the Congress and the CPI(M) had criticized the Prime Minister for this statement. Therefore, ``the present observation of President if it is interpreted to have been made in that context, will again make some to infer that the President's speech echoes those (views) of these two political parties. This will not be good and proper.``

Not since when as Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had allowed the unruly Congress back-benches to insult the then President (Gaini Zail Singh) has a ruling party made an issue of Presidential observations or views. It is not known whether or not Mr. Krishnamurthi issued the statement after clearance from the Prime Minister.

But, the unusual rejoinder, lacking in grace and respect for the head of the republic -that too issued on Republic Day - suggests that the BJP probably has come to invest much more in the ``Constitution Review'' exercise than has been realised so far.

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