LUCKNOW, February 23: One Chief Minister, in a fleet of two dozen cars, rushing to occupy his chair, the other ``Chief Minister'' following him, hot on his heelsthe political situation in UP got more piquant today after the Allahabad High Court restored the Kalyan Singh government and quashed the appointment of Jagdambika Pal.Pal, sworn in by Bhandari on Friday night, looked dazed as he locked himself in the Chief Minister's office when news of the court's ruling came in. ``Only my dead body can be taken out from here,'' he told journalists.With Pal refusing to quit saying he would challenge the HC order in the Supreme Courtmoves were on to file a special leave petition late tonightthe state had virtually two Chief Ministers.With a copy of the court verdict, Kalyan was the first to arrive at Raj Bhavan in a fleet of two dozen cars. Within minutes, Pal followed him in a 15-car cavalcade, jamming the parking space at Raj Bhavan.
Then both of them returned, with their cars, to the Chief Minister's annexewhich, incidentally, does not have much of a parking space. Security guards posted at the gate stopped Pal's fleet -- as Kalyan had alreadyreached -- forcing him to run to occupy the CM's chair before Kalyan.
Meanwhile, the bureaucracy didn't know who's the boss. Chief Secretary R S Mathur sought guidelines from the Governor as to who should be treated as the real Chief Minister. ``As per court orders, Kalyan Singh should occupy the chair with immediate effect'' was the curt reply.
Principal Secretary (Home) Rajiv Ratan Shah then issued a circular ``reinstating'' Kalyan as Chief Minister.
Even this didn't deter Pal. With his lieutenants, CLP leader Pramod Tiwari and some BSP-SP leaders, squatting in Raj Bhawan, Pal remained holed in the Chief Minister's Office with JD (R) leader Rajaram Pandey. Kalyan, on the other hand, began his Cabinet meeting in the adjoining room.
And surprise of surprises! One participants in Kalyan's Cabinet meeting, Saraswati Pratap Singh, had been sworn in as a member ofPal's Cabinet only 48 hours ago.
So the first decision taken by the Kalyan Singh Cabinet was to negate all decisions taken by the Pal Cabinet during the last two days. ``Don't worry. Except Pal, all others will return to us,'' said Kalyan loyalist Loktantrik Congress MLA, Amar Mani Tripathi. None of the Pal Cabinet members, except Pal himself, had resigned from the Kalyan Cabinet and therefore after the latter's revival, ``they continue to be in their previous positions,'' said Tripathi.
Jagdambika Pal, however, was firmly entrenched in his chair till late tonight. Earlier, within hours as Chief Minister, Pal had replaced the Principal Secretary to the CM, Anurag Goyal, with P L Punia and Secretary D K Mittal with Shailesh Krishna. Both the bureaucrats, known for their proximity to Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav respectively, were with Pal all the time as he occupied the CM's chamber and accompanied him to the Governor's house and the annexe.
Meanwhile, BJP workers observed a successful day-longstatewide bandh in protest against the dismissal of the Kalyan Government and also to press for removal of the Governor. In Lucknow, Kalyan Singh with Kalraj Mishra, state party chief Rajnath Singh and other leaders sat on a dharna at the GPO.There were reports of violence by BJP workers in Lucknow, Sitapur, Hardoi, Bahraich and Kanpur.
``Bhandari is a shameless creature and should have resigned. Dismissal of my government was part of a deep-rooted conspiracy involving Prime Minister I K Gujral, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati and Congress leaders,''said Kalyan while addressing an impressive gathering at the dharna site.
Kalyan Singh announced his cabinet had cancelled all the decisions taken by the Jagdambika Pal Ministry. Speaking to media persons at his official residence, Singh said the meeting had cancelled all the decisions of the Pal Ministry which he alleged was ``unconstitutionally installed''.
All the appointments and transfers made by the Pal government had also been cancelled with immediateeffect, Singh said.
gh ¬Ut›(<¼Tt›said that it was the first time in the country's history that a dismissed Chief Minister was being reinstated. ``The people's faith in the judiciary and in democracy will be strengthened.''
Vajpayee also had harsh words for Prime Minister I.K.Gujral, accusing him of trying to postpone a discussion on the issue. He pointed out that when he had telephoned Gujral yesterday, he had been told that he had gone for walk and would call back -- but he did not.
Pal moves SC
Jagdambika Pal moved the Supreme Court tonight against the Allahabad High Court order reinstating the Kalyan Singh Government. His Special Leave Petition (SLP) was filed at 9.45 p.m. by Pal's counsels, Kapil Sibal and Ranjit Kumar. It will come up for hearing tomorrow.The main point the petition makes are:
The High Court erred in staying the Governor's order dismissing the Kalyan Government as according to Article 163 (2) the Governor's decision - in his discretion - is final and cannotbe questioned.The High Court failed to appreciate the Governor's report which showed that all pros and cons had been considered before taking the decision.The Governor had no option as Singh had refused to resign . Also, giving Kalyan time to prove his majority on the floor of the House would have led to horse trading.Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
