CAFE
COM:PORT
CHAT JOCKEYS
EVENTS

The Vote of Confidence

gupta: "The BJP says there is no disturbance in states ruled by them, which indicates that they are the cause of the problems. Are they saying, then, that the best solution is to put them in power all over? But back to the present situation - we were on the road to stability, both political and fiscal, and now we have wrecked it."

Gupta: "Kesri says that Deve Gowda is systematically trying to break the Congress party, and if I delay any further he may succeed. Has he shared this view with the Congress leaders here in this House? Did he take your consent to do this thing? You should tell us, on the floor of this House, why you have done what you have just done, why you have withdrawn your support. You owe it to the nation, whom you promised you would unconditionally support the UF, why you have now broken that promise, you cannot keep the House and the nation in the dark."

The Congress now objecting to Gupta's speech, saying that he had no business revealing details of his conversation with Kesri.

PriyaRanjan Das Munshi replying to Gupta: "We have conveyed to all constituents the reason for the withdrawal of support. Since the UF government did not support our attempts to keep the BJP-BSP coalition out of power in UP, we had no recourse but to withdraw support here. It should be remembered that we had said we would do so even before the actual withdrawal of support."

And now, finally, it is Vajpayee at the mike.

Vajpayee: "Time has come full circle, we are back where we were ten months ago.... it is time to look at the political compulsions that have created this crisis. I must first point out that the BJP has absolutely no hand in this crisis - for once, no one can blame us for this. At one point, they said that the UF and the Congress had got together to combat us. I must ask, why then are they fighting among themselves, rather than fighting against us? I hoped that Narasimha Rao would speak, Sharad Pawar would speak, Antulay would speak. They haven't, and their silence is more eloquent than words."

"What did Sharad Pawar say when supporting this government nine months ago? What did Narasimha Rao promise? That in no circumstances would support be withdrawn. Those gentlemen, who made that promise to this house and this nation less than a year ago, are strangely silent today."

It is being said, points out Vajpayee, that the decision was taken to withdraw support because the UF did not support Congress in UP - why then did the Congress wait for several days after the forming of the Mayawati government before withdrawing support? Why was it not done the same day as the BSP_BJP government was installed? There is some mystery behind this, and it is up to the Congress to clarify this.

Vajpayee: "I must tell the UF members, it is sad that after the Congress sent you these letters asking for your support, you did not speak to them and discuss the issues raised, whether they were valid or not. Actually, the Congress should have been in your steering committee. Why were they not present? There is a reason - the UF wanted support from the Congress, without presenting the impression that they depended on them, because after all, the constituents of the UF have spent their political lives fightint the Congress...

"Mr Speaker, it is true that no single party won a majority. But it is also true that the UF constituents did not get a mandate to rule... they did so at the mercy of the Congress party.... and today they are paying the price for that charity...

Vajpayee: "This country is secular, it has always remained secular and will continue to remain so... and this is not a matter that people need to debate here, it is in the nature of the country and no one can change it. The BJP for its part has no intention of even attempting to change that national character of secularism.

"The UF is a party that is not even united on the question of which candidate to put forward for which post. We do not expect, or want, a mid-term poll. But unfortunately, I can see no other solution today. If not a mid-term poll, who shall form the government? We tried, you defeated us. The Congress does not have the numbers. So what other solution is there?"

"For the Congress, it is very, very difficult to remain outside power, they will do anything to come back. We are not like this, we have spent 40 years in the Opposition and will spend another 40 years if need be. But the Congress is not like us, they cannot stay 40 months without playing political games to try and recapture power, because without power they are nothing.

Vajpayee harps, again, on the date of the withdrawal of support.Why on the 30th of March, he asks? What was special about that day? By then the BSP_BJP government was already in office, so that can't be the reason, though that is what they said in their letter. So what is the real reason, what is the significance for that date?

Vajpayee: "So what have we learnt from all this? What lesson will we take back with us? True, the people willd ecide, but what message do we have to take back to the people? Isn't it time for this uncertainity to end? For political stability to come back to this country? If the Congress feared that Deve Gowda wanted to break the party, then are they saying that they are so weak as a party that a PM dependent on them fior support can break them?

Vajpayee: "We need to re-examine the mandate given ten months back. True, it was not in favour of any party or coalition, but it was not against the BJP either, as is being argued here. One point should be noted here - for the first time, regional parties have come to Delhi, on the wings of victory, and attempted to attain a national perspective. We of the BJP have had an opportunity to interact with them, and this is good. We believe that all parties, whether national or regional, have a place in national polity.

Vajpayee ends by saying it is up to the House, and the nation, to learn the lessons of the failed experiement, and ensure that these mistakes are not repeated. And with this, he yuields the floor to Deve Gowda.

Deve Gowda: "First of all, I want to thank our honourable members for having agreed to pass the finance bill on the 21st of this month, to pass the vote of account and appropriation bill on the 21st of this month. Sir, Atalji as a senior leader has expressed that a supporting party like the Congress should not have been neglected. It is a good suggestion. Mr Santosh Mohan Dev said that no one from our party attempted to speak to them after they had sent me letters. I must first of all say that I have not received any letter from the Congress - expect the letter to the President withdrawing support, a copy of which has been hadned over to me. It is the letter withdrawing support - no letter has been delivered to me before this.

Deve Gowda's argument is that the Congress, which has been attempting to project the picture that they have been attempting to resolve the issues, has in fact not made any attempt at all to appraise him, the PM, of these issues. Startling statement, for the Congress ahs been making much of the two letters from the Congress president that Gowda did not bother to answer - and now Gowda, in open Parliament, says that no such letter has been given to him. "I have some ethics," says Gowda. "I did not come here with any aspirations, any ambitions. "Mr Santosh Mohan Deb, were you not there when I met your President, Mr Kesri? The allegation however is that I have only met Mr Narasimha Rao."

Deve Gowda now arguing the point that each time he meets Rao, much is being made of it. "I am not a person to belittle a former PM juist because he is not now in office. Some of you friends in the Congres, how you belittle him, I am aware. It is not my concern. But as far as I am concerned, friendship is not a marketable commodity as far as I am concerned. Raoji, you are at the fag end of your life, mark my words, these are the people who will stab you, not me. On the day the CPP took away the presidentship from Mr Rao, I went to his house. He was all alone. My going to his house is a sin. My meeting Sharad Pawar is a sin. They said I didn't meet Mr Kesri, the fact is I have met him 12 times. Did I not come to your house, Atalji, did I not go to Advani's house? That is a matter of basic manners, it is not a question of pampering anybody, merely a question of respecting big leaders.

"Sir, I would like to go in detail, this is the last speech of mine in this House, and as for the other House, I wouldn't like to stake a claim to a seat there. I have not interfered even when severe attacks were made against me in this House.

"Mr Dasmunshi is a good friend of mine, now I ask him. Touch your heart and tell me this, what has been the performance of this PM in the last nine months? Which PM of the Congress has visited you, a leader who has been there from the days of the Youth Congress? I have visited you. Touch your heart, and answer me...

"I would like you to tell me frankly, have I not done anything in these last nine months to discharge my responsibilites? The letter withdrawing support says, the Congress is constrained to take note that the UF has failed to help us check the forces of secularism. I ask, am I responsible for the Congress defeat in Punjab? For the defeat in the local bodies in Maharashtra? Am I responsible for the Congress defeats in all bye-elections?

"I am accused of breaking the Congress. I must point out that when Madhavrao Scindia wanted to join the Congress, he came to me, and I said please join the Congress. Is that the act of a person who wanted to break up the Congress?"

"N D Tiwari came to me, Arjun Singh came to me, they told me they were rejoing the Congress, I said, go. I never said anything against it. But the allegation is, Deve Gowda wants to marginalise the Congress, break the Congress.

I have been to Mr Santosh Mohan Deb's constituency, I have not gone to my own party workers' meeting - is this the act of a person out to destabilise the Congress?

"In the morning, Mr Jaswant Singh in a very dignified manner tried to mention the language which was used by the Congress president towards the Prime Minister. Through this House, I want to tell the nation what language was used by this Congress president, and a man who aspires to become Prime Minister himself. He said, "You are a nikkamma, foolish, cowardly, powerless. Let us see who is powerful, between the two of us." This is what Mr Kesri had to say about me. He says I am incompetent. What have I done in the last ten months? The Hindu, in an editorial, says, that autonomy has been returned to the states, that foreign investment has rightly been returned to the ministry for industry.

Gowda: The Washington Post says "India has made a demonstration of the sort of leadership that the South Asian sub continent badly needs. Now, by the initiative of Prime Minister Deve Gowda, the issue (of Bangladesh and the Ganga water) the problem has been solved." This is what the Post says about this incompetent prime minister, this foolish prime minister.

Gowda: "When Kesri became the Congress president, I invited him for lunch. He assured me of all support. Four days later Mr Farooq Abdullah met him. Kesri told him, don't join the UF government, I am going to withdraw support. This was four days after promising me support, and after that, I still met him 11 times, but they say I neglected him. I knew what he thought of me, yet I showed him the courtesy of meeting him. Because, as he says, I am a foolish prime minister.

"The office of the president of the Congress party has no respect. Only if you sit in this House you will get respect, that is why the old man is in such a hurry to sit here, to become prime minister."

That last remark has sparked pandemonium on the floor of the House... the Congress members up in arms, yelling and no one listening to any one else. Sangma is now on his feet, and the first thing he calls for is the closure of the cameras. So the telecast is now off, and will remain off till order is restored.

One thing for sure, if Deve Gowda is going down, it is with more dignity than any other prime minister, before or since. And now we are back live...

Gowda continues: "When my home minister met Mr Kesri, in a one and half hour discussion, all Mr Kesri said was that Deve Gowda should quit. In nine months, no member of the Congress sitting in this House has criticised me - but the Congress president says I am incompetent, foolish, nikkamma, and should quit."

Gowda: "When I was in Russia, my minister for parliamentary affairs telephoned me to say that the Congress was likely to withdraw support. I said then, why do you worry about that now, I am doing something for the nation here, when I come back is time enough to worry about it. Sir Mr Sanjeeva Reddy was once thrown out of this House. In 1978, he came back - as President, and himself administered the oath of office to the then Prime Minister. The wheel, sir, comes full circle. I have been branded incompetent by the Congress president, but the final judgement is to be made by the nation, by 950 million people. If I had resigned, this government could have continued. But my colleagues did not let me resign, because they were more concerned about the verdict of the nation than of the Congress president.

IUnterestingly, Deve Gowda has not once talked about the BJP - his entire attack has been against the key question - to wit, the sudden withdrawal of support.

Gowda: "Why, everyone who spoke today, have asked, why did the Congress chose the 30th of March to withdraw support? I ask the same question - whydidn't they wait till the Budget was passed? What is it the Congress has achieved by doing this? What is the sin I have committed? Tell me? When I was sitting here in this same house, former finanace minister Dr Manmohan Singh in this house argued that we cannot give subsidy for farmers. He said that the subsidy should be removed. I argued against it then. Dr Singh said that in the next three years, he would phase out all subsidies to farmers. But when the UF government took office, within fifteen days, even before I got my first vote of confidence, I took a decision to reinstate that subsidy. Am I an anti-poor PM?

Gowda now taking a leaf out of the famous peroration of Mark Antony - listing each of his achievements, he asks, is this the sin I have committed? An obvious appeal, here, for a conscience vote.

Gowda: "I have told Mr Narasimha Rao, you tell me when your party feels strong enough to form a government, you tell me and I will hand over the resignation of my government. Am I power hungry? If Mr Kesri had in a gentlemanly fashion asked me to quit, I would have done it. But what did Kesri do? Waited till I was out of the country, then withdrew support and said that I should quit. Did I ask the Congress, nine months ago, for your support? You in the Congress tell me I am dividing the Congress, what moral right do you have to try and divide the UF? Who is responsible for what is happening here? If you have moral courage, come here and tell me to resign, don't play dirty politics.

"You have said that the Deve Gowda government is incompetent. Then why do you want that government to continue under a new leader?"

And finally, the hour of decision: The vote is about to be taken.

Each member will be given a slip by the stewards... they will then record the votes, at which point the stewards will collect the slips, and counting will be done under the aegis of the Speaker.

In the first voice vote, Sangma thought the ayes had it. So now, the written vote - a stage wait, while the members record their vote and it is counted...

Members who came in late being given division slips. The voting will be via the division machine, each member has two buttons in front of him or her. The first is on the railing of the bench in front of the member, and it initiates the vote. The member also has to press one of the three push buttons in front of his seat - Green for aye, Red for no, and yellow for abstaining.

In the first division, 158 ayes, 292 nays, 6 abstentions. Sangma says that the process will need to be repeated, so it is not over yet.

Meanwhile, agencies appear to have jumped the gun and annouced the fall of the government - the Speaker, however, is yet to make an announcement about the fate of the motion.

No one seems to be able to figure out what's going on out there - everyone walking about, the Speaker in his chair asking them to sit down, and still no official announcement of the result.

Sangma: "Subject to correction, the result of the division is ayes 158, nos 292, the motion has been negatived and the House stands adjourned." So that is it, folks, Deve Gowda has been voted down.

And with the curtain having finally been rung down, folks, we are shutting shop here. In a while, do log in to Rediff for the backroom stories and other details of today's political tamasha. Meantimes, goodbye all, stay safe.