LUCKNOW-Pointers to Instability

October 17, 1970 vast sections of the youth, with the students in the forefront. It is to this that the Left has to link itself so as to convert diffused primitive sentiment into genuine radicalism. And this cannot be done by merely intensifying and THE last few weeks have been momentous, though nothing unexpected has happened. After the BKD decision not to support, in the Rajya Sabha, the bill to amend the Constitution to withdraw the privileges of former princes, the divorce between BKD and Congress(R) was bound to come. Tensions between the two constituents of the ruling coalition were running high. On September 24 the Chief Minister asked 13 of the 26 Congress Ministers and one BKD Minister to resign. A few hours later he demanded that the Governor dismiss them. It was clearly a move to create a split among the Congress Ministers and to win a sec- tion of them over to BKD. Simultaneously, the State Congress(R) President and the leader of the Party in the Legislature wrote to the Governor that congress(R) no more supported the Government. The 26 Congress Ministers and Kamalapati Tripathi requested the Governor to ask Charan Singh to resign. The Governor rightly argued that at that point of time Charan Singh did not enjoy a majority and since, after having been asked by him to resign,' Charan Singh did not resign, the Governor had no option but to recommend a short spell of President's rule. Congress(O), Jan Sangh, BKD and SSP argued that, with their support, Charan Singh continued to command a majority in the Assembly. But the Governor insisted that once the major partner in the coalition had withdrawn its support, Charan Singh could not be said to enjoy a majority. He had to resign. If he was later elected leader of a new coalition, naturally, he would form the Ministry.