Congress leader regrets boycott of statute panel

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, MARCH 18. The former Union minister and member of the AICC from Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Chandrajit Yadav, on Sunday that the party should not have boycotted the National Commission for the Review of the Constitution headed by the former Chief Justice of India, Mr. M.N.Venkatachalaiah.

Mr. Yadav, who struck a different if not a discordant note at the AICC session here on Saturday, went further to say that elections to the Lok Sabha could not be held frequently.

Speaking to presspersons at the venue of the plenary session, Mr. Yadav said, though not in so many words, that the proposal for a fixed five year term for Lok Sabha should be debated. Although critical of the NDA Government, he did not foresee its collapse on the question of bribery in defence deals issue. It may happen later owing to the contradictions in the coalition.

To a question, he said he would fight for securing justice for the backward classes in the nominations to the Congress Working Committee and other party fora. He recalled that he was one of those who had opposed the nomination of all the 24 members to the CWC by the AICC President, Ms. Sonia Gandhi. If the Congress had lost power in important States such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal it was because of the sycophants around the party President.

Mr. Yadav strongly pleaded for forging alliances with other parties and making the Congress acceptable to the backward classes, minorities, SCs and STs. He said that ``80 per cent of those sitting on the dais at the plenary session belonged to the upper and dominant castes.'' The Congress could not go it alone in Uttar Pradesh and had to consider alignments with parties such as the Samajawadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party. The party had to learn from the NDA where even disparate elements had come together.

Speaking about Uttar Pradesh where Assembly elections are due next year, Mr. Yadav said the Congress had to capitalise on the falling decline in the popularity of the BJP. However, the Chief Minister, Mr. Rajnath Singh, was making all out efforts to rebuild the party and win the next elections.

Mr. Yadav, who heads the Centre For Social Justice in New Delhi, said the Congress could not give up its commitment to socialism. He had the backing of several other leaders in the party in that regard. There was also a move to revive the Socialist Forum in the Congress.

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Section  : Southern States
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