Monday, October 10 2005 15:00 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Ram Vilas Paswan today (Oct 10, 2005) said the dissolution of the Bihar assembly and imposition of President's rule in the state was not altogether unavoidable and sought apex court's clear-cut guidelines to Raj Bhavans on how to act in circumstances that obtained in the state as a consequence of a hung house.

Paswan's statement gains significance coming as it does with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Supreme Court striking down the presidential proclamation dissolving the Bihar assembly.

The man, who was dubbed the villain of the piece by NDA and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) alike for thwarting attempts at government formation and foisting a second election on Bihar in less than a year, is also unrepentant for what he did and claims to better his party's performance in the assembly elections.

Paswan, who held the key to Government formation after the February polls, and was acknowledged by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Bihar Digvijay Singh as the one who was giving sleepless nights to both NDA and RJD-led Secular Democratic Front (SDF) now, in an interview to sources spoke about the reasons for his rooting for a Muslim chief minister and what led to the controversial dissolution.

Most definitely, there existed some grey areas. I would say the dissolution was not altogether unavoidable. The Governor could have acted both ways by recommending or not recommending dissolution. I was not in favor of disbanding the assembly, Paswan, who did not attend the midnight meeting of the union cabinet that recommended dissolution of the House to President, said.

Paswan said though the Supreme Court's verdict in the Bommai case did not leave any doubt about the floor of the legislature being the place where the trial of strength should take place, he suggested that the apex court issue fresh guidelines to Raj Bhavans on how to act in circumstances that obtained in Bihar so that the governors could act impartially and with neutrality.

The discretionary powers of the Governor in such matters are very wide and so the apex court must define those powers relating to recommending dissolution so that these are not misused, he said.

On the charge that Raj Bhavans had become extensions of party offices with politicians being given gubernatorial assignments. Paswan said clear-cut guidelines for Governors can reduce the chances of Raj Bhavans becoming extension counters of political parties.

He, however, felt that even if Governors were not political appointees, anybody who was appointed by the Government of the day would feel obliged and would thus be vulnerable to its pulls and pressures.

Paswan, also a union minister, however, felt horse trading of LJP MLAs by the NDA in which huge sums of money were exchanging hands forced Governor Buta Singh's hand who recommended dissolution of the house.

"I kept silent when the NDA approached my MLAs for support but using money to break my MLAs was foul, he said, adding, they (the NDA) claimed to have the support of my 18 MLAs, three of whom are now in RJD and Congress. Even if the SC revived the house from where could they have managed 20 MLAs required to split 29-member LJP," he asked.

Paswan said he had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi seeking their intervention for facilitating payment of salaries and other benefits to the MLAs during the period when the assembly was kept under suspended animation.

If that was done, the MLAs would not have grown restive and dissolution could have been avoided. Unfortunately, that did not happen.

Asked whether his insistence on a Muslim Chief Minister was the result of his genuine concern for the community or motivated to end RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's hold over them, Paswan said both.

'Muslims have all along felt themselves as second-class citizens'

"Muslims have all along felt themselves as second-class citizens. Their relation with all pro-Muslim parties has been that of the supplicant and the master. I want this to change. I also want to kill two birds with one stone. If a Muslim becomes chief minister, both RJD and BJP will be finished," he said.

Paswan said, Lalu flourished by creating phantom fears of a communal upsurge masterminded by BJP and in the process he strengthened the latter. BJP is what it is today in Bihar because of Lalu. Both reinforced and strengthened each other.

The LJP leader contended that the Muslims became fearful of BJP for the first time in the post-independence era in 1990 when there were communal conflagrations in several parts of the country in the aftermath of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President L K Advani's Rath Yatra. The Babri Masjid demolition scarred their psyche like nothing else did and both events benefited Lalu.

The Jan Sangh was a constituent of the Sanyukta Vidhayak Dal Government in Bihar in 1967 along with the Communist Party of India (CPI). BJP was a partner in the Janata Party government in 1977 and lent outside support to Janata Dal Government in 1989 but Muslims did not complain, he said.