NEW DELHI, May 9: Disregarding the announcement made by Information and Broadcasting Minister S Jaipal Reddy yesterday that the United Front Steering Committee will not discuss Bihar affairs, many of its constituents came out in the open today saying it could not be pushed under the carpet.

Sensing that he virtually stands isolated in the United Front, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal president Laloo Prasad Yadav decided to stay away from the crucial meeting of the Steering Committee tomorrow. Although he said in Patna that he was preoccupied, his abstention may be guided by his political isolation at the Steering Committee.

It also became clear today that the Left parties are determined to set the agenda within the United Front under the leadership of ousted prime minister H D Deve Gowda rather than going by Inder Kumar Gujral's consensus doctrine.

Gujral wanted that the Bihar issue be put in the cold storage at least until the chargesheet in the fodder scam case is filed against Laloo Yadav by the CBI after obtaining the necessary sanction.

It was perhaps at the behest of Gujral that Jaipal Reddy who is also Front's spokesman, issued a statement that Bihar issue would not come up for a discussion as no party could raise internal issue of another party at the UF meeting.

Gujral is keen that controversial issues be pushed under the carpet so that he is able to consolidate his position and focus on national problems. He hosted dinner for 200 Congress MPs, first time ever, yesterday at 7 Race Course Road residence. He is contemplating to undertake similar exercise for the BJP MPs also next week.

He was to dine with Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma and other leaders. But untimely rains prevented him from doing so. He took one-and-half hours in seeking the resignation of his friend Bhabani Sen Gupta as he does not want controversies.

His idea of holding a special session of Parliament in August to discuss national issues of importance is significant in this process. He has pushed the Broadcasting Bill under wraps again and Women's Quota Bill dorment again. He wants to play safe.

But CPM general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet and his allies in the UF have different ideas. They want no truck with the Congress and Deve Gowda continues to be their leader.

Surjeet told The Indian Express tonight that ``if certain members want to raise political developments in Bihar they cannot be prevented.'' He said that four chief ministers belonging to the Front had already stated that if chargesheeted, Laloo should resign.

While Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh, Jyoti Basu, Farooq Abdullah and N Chandrababu Naidu respectively had made their views clear on the subject, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi joined the issue today. He made a statement in Coimbatore seeking Laloo's resignation in the event of being chargesheeted.

The Samajwadi Party of Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has also joined the anti-Laloo campaign. It is now time for Mulayam to settle score with Laloo who scuttled his prospects of becoming the prime minister last month. Laloo went to the extent of even preventing Mulayam's elevation as deputy prime minister.

Sources say that Amar Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP and close confidante of Mulayam would play the taped interview of Laloo given to a leading newspaper in which he attacked Deve Gowda and others at tomorrow's Steering Committee meeting.

Although Laloo had denied that he had given the interview after it was widely published, Amar Singh is bent upon raising the issue on the ground that Laloo had no business to attack UF members publicly.

Surjeet is trying to rope in the CPI also in its campaign at the Steering Committee. CPI general secretary A B Bardhan's statement in Thiruvanthapuram that the demand for Laloo's resignation was unlikely to figure in tomorrow's Steering Committee meet is also considered important.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.