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President dissolves 12th Lok Sabha

President K R Narayanan today dissolved the 12th Lok Sabha and ordered fresh elections, saying that "a stable government cannot be formed without a general election'', bringing the curtains down on 10-day long political impasse on the alternative ministry at the Centre.

In the present situation, the President said in a four-page communique, "the time has arrived for the democratic will of the people to be ascertained once again so that a government can be formed which can confidently address to the urgent needs of the people.''

The poll schedule for the general election -- the third in three years -- will be finalised by the Election Commission in due course.

The President, in the communique, observed that the ruling alliance lost its majority because of lack of cohesion within its friends and those who voted out the alliance showed the same disunity while trying to form an alternative government.

''In this situation, the President had reached the conclusion that the time had arrived for the democratic will of the people to be ascertained once again, so that a government can be formed, which can confidently address the urgent needs of the people,'' the communique said.

The communique said Prime Minister Vajpayee met the President last night at 2045 hrs.

The President conveyed to him that the non-BJP parties had not succeeded in coming up with an alternative government and there had been no accretion in the numbers supporting the BJP-led coalition.

He gave the prime minister his assessment that the 12th Lok Sabha was not capable of yielding a government with a reasonable prospect of stability.

The recourse to the dissolution on the defeat of a minority coalition government arose when it appeared to the President that stable government cannot be formed without a general election.

The dissolution of the house indicated that an alternative government with working majority, which can be expected to be carried on for a reasonable period of time was not feasible.

The President informed the prime minister that in his perception the dissolution of the 12th Lok Sabha had therefore become necessary.

In commencing these consultations, the President had two major objectives: the need to avoid ordering a mid-term election and the importance of seeing whether a party, or a combination of parties, can provide a workable, viable alternative government with the prospect of stability for a substantial period of time if not for the remaining term of the twelfth Lok Sabha, the communique said.

The cabinet met at 12 noon today and recorded a minute recommending to the President that he may dissolve the 12th Lok Sabha so that a fresh mandate could be obtained from the people as early as possible. The minute converged with the President's own analysis of the situation.

After the dissolution of the 12th Lok Sabha the country will hold the third elections in the last three years.

The communique said in the process of finding an alternative government, the President held consultations with legal and constitutional experts including the attorney general of India. He also held discussions on April 22, 23 and 24, with a number of parties and individuals.

These included H K S Surjeet, general secretary, CPI-M and Jyoti Basu, chief minister, West Bengal, A B Bardhan, general secretary, CPI, Jayalalitha, general secretary, AIADMK, R S Gavai, MP, Ramdas Athawale, MP, and Prof Jogendra Kawade, MP (all Republican Party of India), Debabrata Biswas, general secretary, Amar Roypradhan and Bir Singh Mahato from All India Forward Bloc, Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP), Laloo Prasad Yadav (RJD), Mayawati (BSP), Dr Subramanian Swamy (Janata Party) and Sharad Yadav (Janata Dal).

'The time had come for the will of the people to be ascertained once again'

UNI

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