Gujral gasps, seeks to defer Steering Committee meet

Monday, July 7 1997

Gujral gasps, seeks to defer Steering Committee meet

Harish Gupta

NEW DELHI, July 6: After failing to bring the two Yadavs together, Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral is busy persuading United Front (UF) leaders to defer the Steering Committee meeting ``until the water finds its level''.

Since the issue of Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav's entry into the UF is becoming contentious due to stiff resistance put up by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, newly-elected Janata Dal (JD) president Sharad Yadav and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), Gujral is keen to push it under the carpet.

The Prime Minister's argument in seeking deferment of the Steering Committee meeting, scheduled on July 8, is that the Government had already decided not to raise petrol price for the time being. Therefore, there was no agenda before the Committee except to discuss the entry of Laloo's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) into the Front.

Gujral feels that any discussion on the entry of Laloo into the UF at this stage would weaken the Front and his Government.

There are indications that Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who is a convenor of the UF, may defer the meet. Meanwhile, Laloo told The Indian Express in an exclusive interview that Gowda was a ``big zero'' in Karnataka.He said,``I made him the Prime Minister and chairman of the UF. Who is he to admit me into the UF now? I am not going to anybody with a begging bowl. I am a free man and would not succumb to drawing room politicians.''

While Sharad refrained from making any comment on Laloo, the counter attack was launched today by CPM leader Sitaram Yechuri. In reply to a question, he made it clear that ``UF cannot be strengthened by having a person on the Steering Committee who has been chargesheeted.''

However, sources say that a final decision would be taken after the return of Harkishan Surjeet from London.

Laloo, on his part, is set to return to Patna to handle the growing threat to his Government from JD MLAs who by all accounts are less than three dozen in number.