The Hindu : Sonia as PM unacceptable, says Sangma

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 04, 2002

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National

Sonia as PM unacceptable, says Sangma

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI SEPT. 3. Even as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) general secretary, P. A. Sangma, today said the best alternative to the BJP would be a Congress-led secular front — provided the party president, Sonia Gandhi, was not projected as Prime Minister — he supported the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa's call for a "non-Congress, non-BJP" front.

Welcoming at a press conference here Ms. Jayalalithaa's statement against a person of foreign origin being made Prime Minister, the NCP leader urged the Congress to change its prime ministerial candidate so that all secular parties could come together under a common banner led by it. "If the Congress finds itself unable to do so — and, we are certain about it — then we feel a "non-Congress, non-BJP front" should be put up to challenge the BJP.''

However, Mr. Sangma refused to speculate on the leadership of such a front. "First, let us work towards setting up the front," he said adding that the NCP would appeal to the Left parties to join it. As for the fate of the Congress-NCP alliance in two States, he said "we are with the Congress out of local compulsions, and will pull out when we find an alternative".

Denying that Ms. Jayalalithaa had "hijacked" an issue that had provided the rationale for the creation of the NCP, Mr. Sangma said he had sent a letter to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister complimenting her for her "frank, forthright and unambiguous statement of enormous political significance for the future of our country".

In his letter, the NCP leader said that by raising the issue at the present juncture — when the next general elections were not too far away — she had "set in motion social and political forces that would once and for all prevent the prospects of the governance of the country falling into the hands of persons of foreign origin, rootless feudal coteries, and vestiges of imperialism". Maintaining that the NCP had no quarrel with Ms. Gandhi over her being the Congress president, Mr. Sangma said that he, Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar had accepted her leadership, and had left the party only when she aspired to become the Prime Minister.

It is a non-issue: Cong.

Meanwhile, the Congress continued to dismiss the debate over Ms. Gandhi's foreign origin as a "non-issue" that had been "settled by the Supreme Court, and the people's court".

Asked whether Ms. Gandhi was bothered by it, a close aide shot back in the negative. As to whether the Congress president would make a statement, the answer was a cryptic "Why should she?"

The Karnataka Chief Minister, S. M. Krishna, who met Ms. Gandhi today, said Ms. Jayalalithaa was unhappy with everyone, including the Prime Minister and himself.

In a related statement, his Delhi counterpart, Shiela Dikshit, termed Ms. Jayalalithaa's remarks as a "desperate attempt to project herself as Prime Minister".

As far as the Congress is concerned, this is an issue that is best left to the people.

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