The Hindu : Weaponisation no solution: Sahgal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 07, 2002

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Weaponisation no solution: Sahgal

By Our Special Correspondent

The Left parties' Presidential candidate, Lakshmi Sahgal, addressing a press conference at the Chennai Press Club on Saturday. On her right is her daughter, Subhashini Ali. — Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

CHENNAI July 6. While maintaining that her fight against A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in the Presidential election was only symbolic, the Left parties' candidate, Lakshmi Sahgal, today said the promise of support by some NDA constituents to her held importance.

Reiterating that some of those in the NDA had agreed to back her, Capt. Sahgal said she did not want to name them as that would amount to betraying their confidence.

At the same time, she said ``winning or losing'' was not the issue. ``We want our voices to be heard by the people of India.''

Insisting that the nomination of Dr. Kalam, a missile scientist, would send ``wrong signals'' to the world, it would not help in creating a favourable image for the country. ``When so many people are below the poverty line, weaponisation is no solution,'' she said.

Problems such as the Kashmir dispute could be solved only through dialogue and not by armed confrontation.

On whether the Presidential contest would send ``wrong signals'' to the world that the country was not united, she said there was nothing wrong in fighting an election in a democracy.

The country must guard itself not against the ``enemies outside'', but those ``within''.

Opposing a division of Jammu and Kashmir on communal lines as suggested by the Sangh Parivar, she said this was against the very basis of the nation. Jammu and Kashmir, which was a Muslim-majority State, had opted to join India, she pointed out.

Asked about the ``unequal fight'' in the Presidential election, she said she was used to such fights during her tenure in the Indian National Army which took on the ``mighty British empire''.

Asked how the Left expected to fight the BJP without the support of the Congress, she said the Congress was bogged down in its internal fights.

The then Congress Government had failed to prevent the Babri Masjid demolition, she said.

On how she felt about fighting it out with a ``fellow Tamilian,'' she said two Indians were in the race.

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