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Khurana to take on Centre
By Our Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI, DEC. 8. The former Chief Minister, Mr. Madan Lal Khurana, is on collision course. And this time, he is determined to have his way from the party which has ignored him and the Central Government which has not taken him seriously. His decision to go ahead with the agitation for fulfilment of various demands despite an assurance by the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, to hold back is indicative that he is prepared for the worst.
Mr. Khurana has been joined by another former Chief Minister, Mr. Sahib Singh Verma, MP, in his crusade. In order to broaden the spectrum of the agitation, the former Chief Minister has enlisted the support of the NDA ally Lok Janshakti Party vice-president, Mr. Ramvir Singh Bidhuri. Clearly, Mr. Khurana looks a man in hurry and he is not ready to listen to anybody as far as the ``interests of Delhiites'' are concerned.
Already there is the talk within the party and political circles that the ``defiance of the party'' is an deliberate attempt by the Mr. Khurana to test the waters. ``This is clearly aimed at forming a Third Front in the Capital for the MCD or Assembly polls. Mr.Khurana is increasingly getting a feeling that there is little left in the party for him and the best option would be to have his own regional outfit which is in position to influence the outcome of any future electoral battle.
There is little doubt that Mr. Khurana and Mr. Verma are feeling slighted by the continued attempts by the party leadership to sideline them. The decision to hold a massive convention tomorrow on issues concerning the Capital, which mainly pertain to the Central Government, is an indication that Mr. Khurana is preparing himself for a bigger battle. The issues that are being sought to be raised are reguarlisation of unauthorised colonies, a matter which has been time and again raised by the Congress party and has to be decided by the Centre. Similarly, the matter of issuing an Ordinance to permit use of Low Sulphur Diesel along with CNG in Delhi has already been rejected by the Central Government. But Mr. Khurana's insistence on such an Ordinance could lead to a clash with the Vajpayee Government.
The association of Mr. Bidhuri with tomorrow's convention is a clear indication that old political alignments are once again at work. Mr. Bidhuri has pledged unclinched support for the issues being sought to be raised by Mr. Khurana. For his part, Mr. Khurana is very clear that unless some firm commitment comes from the Prime Minister or the Union Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani, he would not relent on the issue. Clearly, the BJP can ill-afford such a situation at a time when the MCD polls are round the corner. Any crisis within the Delhi unit at this time could prove to be disastrous for the party for which it would have to pay a heavy price.
There is little doubt that Mr. Khurana is the face of BJP in Delhi and is at present one of the most respected and recognised leader of the party. Feeling humiliated and disgusted with the present set-up, Mr. Khurana could well be heading for taking that much announced ``extreme step'' which could end up with his bidding farewell to the party.
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