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India reverses move to dissolve state's government
Local political dispute has national reach
October 22, 1997
Web posted at: 12:57 p.m. EDT (1657 GMT)NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- The government of India backed down Wednesday, deciding not to dissolve the local Hindu nationalist-led government in Uttar Pradesh state. The action follows political friction in the northern state that led to a shoe, chair and microphone-throwing brawl on Tuesday.
On Wednesday the Cabinet of Indian Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral held an emergency meeting after being asked to reconsider its overnight decision to dismiss the local Hindu nationalist-led government in Uttar Pradesh state.
President K.R. Narayanan, who made the request, questioned whether conditions in the northern state had deteriorated to the point where federal rule was required in the region regarded as India's political heartland.
After hours of deliberation, the Cabinet reversed itself and said it would not seek to dissolve the government in Uttar Pradesh.
The decision sinks Gujral's fragile coalition government deeper into political turmoil as his left-center supporters and the right-wing Hindu opposition fight over power, analysts said.
In previous administrations, the central government has taken over the administration of the states of Punjab, Kashmir and even Uttar Pradesh. Normally, such a move is justified if the state is mired in violence or corruption, or is unable to form a stable government.
Political brawl
The Cabinet's decision to seek federal rule in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, followed fighting in the provincial capital of Lucknow, where lawmakers on Tuesday hurled abuses -- and anything they could grab -- at one another.
The brawl, which left 45 people hurt, occurred just before the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, Indian People's Party) survived a confidence vote. Rivals of the BJP walked out, accusing BJP members of starting the violence.
The Hindu nationalists, the largest group in the Indian parliament, threatened to go to court if the Uttar Pradesh assembly were replaced by federal rule.
Political analysts said events in the state, which accounts for a maximum 85 seats in the 545-seat national parliament, could influence alliances and eventually the composition of Gujral's center-left government.
The prime minister's shaky minority coalition was formed to keep the BJP from assuming control of the federal government.
Cabinet ministers, believing Tuesday's confidence vote in Uttar Pradesh was won fraudulently by the BJP, sought to impose federal rule before reversing themselves.
Under India's constitution, the president, whose role is mostly ceremonial, must implement the Cabinet's final recommendation, and can ask the ministers to reconsider only once.
New Delhi Bureau Chief Anita Pratap and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Political parties jockey for power in India - April 12, 1997
- India's Congress demands Gowda resignation - April 10, 1997
- In India: Political war of nerves - April 3, 1997
- Indian prime minister wins time to prove majority - March 31, 1997
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- India: The Land Of The Indus - Information about India, its culture and history
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