HT Archive: VP Singh’s 11-month tenure as PM ends, coalition govt falls
On November 7, 1990, PM VP Singh's National Front Government lost a confidence vote in Lok Sabha, marking the first such defeat in independent India.
The 11-month-old National Front Government was on November 7, 1990, defeated in the Lok Sabha by an overwhelming majority after an 11-hour acrimonious debate during which Opposition stalwarts severely criticised Prime Minister VP Singh for allegedly bringing the country to the brink of disaster in all spheres.
Singh could muster only 142 votes, including those of the Left parties, in support of his motion seeking confidence of the House in the Council of Ministers, while the combined Opposition got 346 votes. There were eight abstentions and the total attendance was 496.
Soon after he lost the confidence vote in Lok Sabha, PM Singh sent in the resignation of his Cabinet to President R Venkataraman by a special courier, according to labour minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
The process of consultations with different political party leaders on the Government formation is expected to begin in a few days.
The fate of the National Front Government was decided by a division. Dissatisfied with the voice vote, finance minister Madhu Dandavate demanded a division and saw the government decisively defeated.
As soon as Speaker Rabi Ray announced the result of the division and declared that the confidence motion moved by the Prime Minister had fallen, there was heavy thumping of desks by the Congress-I and the BJP members.
LK Advani, who made a scathing attack on PM Singh and his government during the debate, was the first to walk up to him and shake hands with him. He was followed by Chandra Shekhar and other leaders. Geeta Mukherjee (CPM) became emotional and was seen wiping her tears while talking to Rajiv Gandhi.
Earlier, Gandhi, in a hard hitting one-hour speech, grilled Singh for the abject failures of his non-performing government. Gandhi made about a dozen queries from the Prime Minister, including on the important issues of Punjab, Kashmir, Assam, and prices. He also said there had been diplomatic failures and economic stagnation. What Singh had given to the country was only instability and a non-functioning government, he said.
Advani was no less scathing when he almost exposed the outgoing Prime Minister by revealing whatever talks he had with him on the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid problem and what assurance Singh had given him from time to time, even when his rath yatra was in Bihar.
On behalf of the government, George Fernandes, Arif Mohammad Khan and Sharad Yadav put up a brave front by defending PM Singh. Fernandes said that the day Mandal Commission report was accepted by the government, he had prepared himself for the fall.
Fernandes pointed out that during 1982 Lok Sabha election in Amethi where Sharad Yadav was the Lok Dal candidate against Rajiv Gandhi there were slogans like “Sharad Yadav wapas jao, lathi lekar bhains charao.” This was the extent of casteism in Amethi. He also made certain personal remarks against Gandhi.
Arif Mohd Khan, making a balanced speech, appealed to the BJP not to press the Ram Janmabhoomi issue too far but try to solve the problem by sitting across the table. The riots in Ayodhya or elsewhere are symptoms of a disease called communalism which, he said, had originated because the BJP had fanned the aspirations of a particular community on the basis of religion. Where there is violence there is no religion, he remarked.
PM Singh, however, declared that “we are not going out with our heads down”. We are content with what we have done for the have-nots of this country and we would continue this struggle for the emancipation of all those sections of society who are socially, politically and economically backward, he said.
In a voice charged with emotion, he said that his case is similar to when one is hanged and kisses the gallows. The forming of a government and coming to power is just a “stoppage” in a long-drawn struggle and, therefore, the struggle will continue until all the down-trodden people also came up and had equal opportunity for their development and advancement. “Yeh sangharsh jari rehe ga (this struggle shall continue),” he remarked.
However, Singh expressed doubts that since his government was going out, the successor government might tamper with Bofors records. He, therefore, suggested that this record should be kept with the President of India. But Advani objected to this and said that since election had been fought on Bofors issue, the Prime Minister should give all the information his Government had on Bofors to the House.
Replying to Gandhi’s criticism, PM Singh said that the leader of the Opposition asked many questions -- it seemed he had only questions and no answers.
Lok Sabha Speaker Rabi Ray put the motion to vote at 10.25pm and after a division he declared that the motion had been defeate -- the first time in the independent India that a government was defeated on the floor of the House.
