Friday, March 11 2005 12:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The issue of Centre making a Presidential reference to the Supreme Court on its order in the Jharkhand Assembly case is understood to have been discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi.

The Presidential reference issue was thoroughly discussed at the meeting in the backdrop of Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's suggestion after an all-party meeting last night (Mar 10, 2005) that a Presidential reference may be made to seek the Apex Court's opinion so that constitutional balance can be restored, informed sources said.

A decision on the Presidential reference is likely to be announced this evening, the sources added.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, which was also attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leader Ambika Soni, however, said the "general review of the political situation in the country came up for discussion."

Asked whether Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) supremo Shibu Soren will be able to prove majority in the Jharkhand Assembly, Soni said the UPA coalition would sail through in the trust vote.

The meeting at the Prime Minister's residence was attended by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Law Minister H R Bharadwaj, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, HRD Minister Arjun Singh besides Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel and P K Bansal.

Enraged over Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's suggestion a Presidential Reference, the Opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) accused him of "going overboard" on the issue and passed a unanimous resolution endorsing the court order and expressing concern over the "selective anger" against it.

"The Speaker has become not only a party but a pillar. He has gone one step beyond the Government and is trying to force it to go in for a Presidential reference," Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Sushma Swaraj told reporters in Delhi after a 45-minute long meeting of NDA leaders called to discuss the Jharkhand issue and the Speaker's stand.