For Congressmen exhibited a return of their spirits following the appointment of a new party chief and the freeing of its firefighters from charges of anti-party activities. They indicated that discussion on the Srikrishna Commission and a no-confidence motion against Speaker Datta Nalawade were definitely on the cards.

The Sena-BJP has reason to worry about both. For the alliance is concerned about the possible effects of the tabling the Srikrishna Commission report not just on its party cadres but among the masses as well. No wonder then that it is seeking to wriggle out of the difficult situation by every means. The State government is hoping the Centrewill amend the Commissions of Inquiry Act to facilitate withholding of the report on grounds of a possible vitiation of the law and order situation in the State. But even presuming such an amendment happens during the current session of parliament, Chief Minister Manohar Joshi who has promised the tabling of the report will have to contend with a possible judicial contempt charge if that does not happen.

But that is not where the Srikrishna Commission troubles end. Opposition leaders have been demanding at least four days discussion on the report even as the government hopes it can get away by tabling it on the last day of the session. According to sources, the opposition parties have already begun the preparation to take the issue on the streets if the government tried an easy way out of the conundrum.

The Congress which had earlier planned to move a no-confidence motion against the government, has now changed tack by seeking one against the Speaker on grounds of his alleged partisan attitude. This islargely because it is still reeling from the after-effects of its foiled game plan to put the Sena-BJP on notice following last month's Rajya Sabha elections when it succeeded in engineering considerable cross voting from the ruling alliance's ranks towards itself. However, its own debacle now makes the Congress nervous of repeating the experiment in the Legislative Assembly. On the other hand, a move against the Speaker that might not necessarily bring down the government but embarrass the government nevertheless and this is now being looked upon as a good enough psychological victory that the opposition might gain over the ruling alliance. Guarding both his flanks thus, Joshi was obviously relieved that the opposition, for a change, decided not to boycott his customary assembly-eve tea party. Though that is cold comfort given that for the first time in years the opposition attended the Chief Minister's tea party on the eve of the budget session in March in a pacifist mood but the session ended up provingone of the most personally damaging to Joshi and endangering his once-steady job.

"We don't need to do much...the chief minister and the government were in doldrums on its own", the leader of the opposition in council Chhagan Bhujbal said.

However, the election for the post of chairman and vice chairman in the Legislative Council may be sorted out amicably with the senior BJP leader N S Pharande emerging as the consensus candidate while there was a near unanimity on electing the Congress' leader Vasant Davkhare as the vice chairman. Though the chief minister Manohar Joshi did not gave any firm commitment, even he hoped that the issue would be sorted out in good spirit.