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India's Congress demands Gowda resignation
Talks on government crisis end without resolution
April 10, 1997
Web posted at: 11:33 a.m. EDT (1533 GMT)NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- India's powerful Congress party withdrew its support from beleaguered Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda Thursday and demanded that Gowda resign ahead of a confidence vote to be held Friday against his government.
The Congress had held up the government's ruling coalition for the last 10 months, but a memo sent to Congress legislators Thursday instructed them to vote against the government in Friday's Parliament tally.
If Gowda loses the vote, he must resign. If no other political group can form a government, the president will call for elections.
The memo came after talks with other coalition members, aimed at salvaging Gowda's government, collapsed. Congress demands Gowda's resignation, and the United Front refuses to sacrifice him.
"Talks are closed. It's all over," Laloo Prasad Yadav, a key United Front leader and coalition leader, told reporters. "We are ready for polls if the situation arises," he said.
Congress party spokesman Vithal Gadgil said nothing positive had emerged from the talks, but said during a news conference that his party is still prepared to negotiate with the United Front until the Parliament convenes for the confidence vote.
Gadgil also said that Congress is willing to negotiate with the United Front, even if Gowda loses Friday's vote.
If new elections are held, Congress' main opponent, the conservative Hindu nationalist BJP, will have the best chance at taking over the government since it holds the most Parliament seats.
Congress has done very badly at the polls in the past two years, and the Congress president's recent decision to withdraw support from the United Front -- pulling the rug out from under a government that was functioning reasonably well -- hasn't increased the party's popularity.
Reporter Lea Terhune contributed to this report.
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