Sunday, May 12, 2002
Sunday, May 12, 2002 |
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By Our Special Correspondent
No names were discussed at the NDA meeting today but the members were told that they were free to give their suggestions to the Prime Minister. It was felt that first the effort must be made to arrive at an agreed name within the NDA, then the consultation process must be expanded to include supporting parties such as the Telugu Desam and the Bahujan Samaj Party and finally, the Opposition parties could be involved. The Presidential poll was the main subject on the agenda of the meeting which lasted over an hour. Apparently, the continuing violence in Gujarat was referred to in passing — the Union Home Minister, L.K. Advani, "explained'' that his Ministry had credible information that efforts were being made by agents of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence to sustain the violence in the State by offering material and other help. His explanation was in tune with what he had told the consultative committee members attached to his Ministry on Friday. There was also a suggestion that NDA MPs should help establish peace in Gujarat, for which some concrete steps were needed, the NDA convener, George Fernandes, later told reporters. (According to UNI, the NDA offered to send its MPs to help restore peace in different parts of the State.) And, finally, a self-congratulatory resolution in relation to Pokhran-II four years ago was also passed at the meeting. Although not stated in so many words, the mood at the NDA meeting was that the Government should choose its own candidate for the highest office. If the ruling coalition and the Opposition could arrive at a consensus that would be fine, otherwise the NDA should go ahead by proposing its own candidate even if that meant a contest. The calculation is that although the Bharatiya Janata Party has lost several States — and, together with that the majority in the electoral colleges for the Presidential election from those States — the NDA is still in a position to get its own candidate elected with the help of the TDP and the BSP. The BJP has been suggesting that it had been promised support by the TDP, but the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu, who met Mr. Advani here today, indicated that he would disclose what his party will do at "an appropriate time''. The resolution adopted at the NDA meeting today said: "National Democratic Alliance authorises the honourable Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to take the decision about the ensuing Presidential elections. The NDA requests the Prime Minister to discuss the issue within the NDA partners and then with parties like the TDP and the BSP, who are supporting (the Government) from the outside, followed by consultations with Opposition parties before coming to a final decision.'' The Pokhran resolution stated that the Vajpayee Government had not given in to any pressure, that in spite of international opposition to India going nuclear, it had gone ahead with Pokhran-II in the national interest. Over the last four years the Government had faced many challenges on the security front and had met them successfully.
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