The Hindu : Front Page : Rajnath will respond after studying Gowda’s memorandum

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Friday, Nov 02, 2007
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Rajnath will respond after studying Gowda’s memorandum

Neena Vyas

JD(S) leader not making promises to support BJP till end of Assembly term

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party will respond to the 12-point memorandum of understanding sent by Janata Dal (Secular) president H.D. Deve Gowda to BJP president Rajnath Singh in the context of the tie-up between the parties to form a government in Karnataka.

Mr. Singh’s office received the MoU here on Thursday morning when he was away from the capital. Speaking to The Hindu on the phone, on his way to Ranchi, Mr. Singh said he would study the memorandum after his return to Delhi on Friday and then respond to Mr. Gowda.

He said the Karnataka unit of his party earlier conveyed to him that the former Chief Minister, H.D. Kumaraswamy, agreed to support a BJP-led government with B.S. Yeddyurappa as Chief Minister on the basis of the agreement arrived at between the two parties just before the Kumaraswamy government was installed 21 months ago.

“We agreed to the same terms and conditions. That was what was conveyed to me by my State unit. I also understood that the JD(S) had agreed to support a BJP-led government for the remaining 19 months tenure of the Assembly.”

The third point of the 12-point MoU says portfolios and Ministries are to be decided in consultation with Mr. Kumaraswamy. The sixth point says a BJP-JD (S) coordination committee, which is to be set up, will be chaired by Mr. Kumaraswamy.

And most importantly, the 11th point suggests that “as far as possible,” the Assembly should be dissolved earlier in the event of early dissolution of Parliament to enable the coalition partners “to contest elections independent of each other.”

The Assembly’s tenure will last till May 2009, when the Lok Sabha election is also due. Clearly, Mr. Gowda is not making any promise to support the BJP till the end of the normal tenure of the Assembly, that is for the next 19 months.

“Free to go their separate ways”

He has also made it clear that the JD (S) and the BJP will be free to make their own alliances and go their separate ways in the Lok Sabha election.

Playing down the twist in the JD(S)-BJP story, BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said the Centre should not delay inviting Mr. Yeddyurappa to lead the next government. The Centre had “no option” but to do this as no one else had claimed a majority.

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