Kiran Kumar Reddy and Arvind Kejriwal would love to ‘sacrifice’ their posts for the ‘larger’ good. It sounds unconvincing. With the general election round the corner, two States — Delhi and Andhra Pradesh — appear to be moving towards President’s Rule as Chief Ministers of both the States are in a mood to quit, although for different reasons.
While Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is threatening to resign if the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed by the Delhi Assembly, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy wants to quit if the Telangana issue is not resolved by Parliament.
Take the case of Mr Kejriwal who has taken over the reins recently. He has become a phenomenon and after the unprecedented success in Delhi, the AAP wants to go national and win some seats in the coming Lok Sabha election. Mr Kejriwal would find it easier to go on national campaign if he is not confined to the administration of Delhi. He has realised that as Chief Minister he has only limited powers as the police is not with him, nor is the Delhi Development Authority, while the trifurcated municipal corporations are controlled by the BJP.
In the past one month, Mr Kejriwal has threatened to quit at the drop of a hat almost on any issue. His critics say that he has realised that he will not be able to deliver his tall promises and, therefore, he is indulging in such drama. First he was reluctant to form the Government. Then he tried to provoke the Congress by sitting at dharna near the Rail Bhavan taking on Delhi Police, but somehow a face saving formula from Lt Governor Najeeb Jung solved the problem. Even before the dust had settled down, Mr Kejriwal has begun this controversy about the Jan Lokpal Bill, insisting there is no need for prior permission from the Lt Governor. Now the AAP chief is threatening to quit if the Bill is not passed. This does not suit the Congress and the BJP. Both would rather see Mr Kejriwal fail rather than quit his post now.
The Congress would not pull out even if the party was provoked by the AAP until the Lok Sabha poll. The BJP is ready for President’s Rule, as it does not want to form the Government if the AAP ministry falls.
As for Mr Reddy, he is a lightweight and is leading the campaign against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. He has defied the Congress high command by getting the Telangana Bill rejected in Andhra Pradesh Assembly.
While the Congress is twiddling its thumbs about taking action against him, Mr Reddy is getting ready to launch his own outfit, hoping that Telangana becomes a reality and he finds some support in the Seemandhra region. He knows that he cannot win his own seat if he remains in the Congress after the bifurcation.
With the Telangana Bill facing stormy weather in Parliament, the Government is in a bind as to how to go forward as it does not have the numbers in the Lok Sabha.
The key is with the BJP as without its help the Bill cannot be passed in either house. The BJP will agree only on its own terms, and that includes half a dozen amendments. If the Bill is not passed in this session, the Congress will probably lose the entire State. If a separate Telangana is formed the party hopes to get at least 15 seats after the merger of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi. In the Seemandhra regions, the YSR Congress is gaining ground and the Telugu Desam Party too is looking for a tie-up with the BJP.
There are two options before the Congress in dealing with Mr Reddy. The first and the easier option is to sack him, but the party wants to wait and watch until the current session is over. However, sacking him will have its own repercussion within the party and the Congress needs the numbers at any cost.
The second option is to face the situation if Mr Reddy resigns on his own, which he has been threatening to. There is an opinion in the party that with the election coming close ,there is no point in putting another person as Chief Minister and, therefore, the President’s Rule should be imposed.
The current session has shown the directionless way in which the UPA Government dithered on the question of introduction of the Telangana Bill. It has now, but the party has to cope with the crisis as a result its decision. We can already see the fall-outs.
The next few days will reveal which way Andhra Pradesh and Delhi will go.
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