The Hindu : Opposition vows to fight BJP

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 14, 2003

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Opposition vows to fight BJP

By K.V. Prasad

PTI

The CPI(M) leader, Somnath Chatterjee (extreme left), who hosted a dinner for Opposition leaders at his residence in New Delhi on Wednesday. Seen with him (from left) are the former Chief Minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu, the Samajwadi Party president, Mulayam Singh Yadav, the CPI(M) leader, Harkishan Singh Surjeet, the CPI leader, A.B. Bardhan, the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, the former Prime Minister, Deve Gowda, the Samajwadi Party leader, Amar Singh, the RJD leader, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh (partly hidden), and the Congress leader, Manmohan Singh.

NEW DELHI AUG. 13. Leaders of various Opposition parties today arrived at a broad understanding that their prime political battle is to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party and agreed to continue with bilateral/multilateral meetings to work out the modalities.

The understanding was arrived at a dinner meeting hosted by the CPI(M) parliamentary party leader, Somnath Chatterjee, which was attended by a majority of the Opposition leaders including the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, the veteran Marxist leader, Jyoti Basu, the Samajwadi party chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav, and others.

"All of us have decided that the BJP is a menace and the common enemy. We will fight it till the end,'' Mr. Chatterjee and Mr. Yadav told presspersons in the presence of the other leaders at the end of a two-hour meeting.

The next conclave will be hosted by Mr. Yadav.

Mr. Yadav sidestepped queries on the differences within the Opposition over the ongoing boycott of the Defence Minister, George Fernandes, in Parliament. "These are small issues,'' he said. The Samajwadi Party has not been a party to the boycott and, even today, Mr. Yadav is understood to have underscored the need to review it.

Realising the necessity to carry the understanding forward would require more than merely identifying the principal political adversary, the leaders agreed to continue the discussions individually and in groups to finetune it.

For instance, it is well-known that the Left parties face a challenge from the Congress in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura while the Janata Dal (Secular) of the former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, has a similar problem in Karnataka. This is to be sorted out among the party leaders, keeping in mind the broader objective of defeating the BJP, the CPI(M) politburo member, Sitaram Yechury, said.

Mr. Basu was candid in stating that in the next round of Assembly elections to Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram, the CPI(M) would contest a few seats. "We would be happy if the Congress extends support to our candidates. Even if they do not do so, we will still support the Congress in places where we are not in contest,'' Mr. Basu said.

Adding a note of caution, he said he hoped that all parties would stick to the understanding arrived at today.

Mr. Basu, it is believed, raised a series of questions on the economic policy of the Congress to the Congress leader, Manmohan Singh. Mr. Singh, a former Finance Minister referred to the policy as outlined at the party's Shimla conclave.

Among those who attended the dinner were the CPI(M) general secretary, Harkishan Singh Surjeet, his CPI counterpart, A.B. Bardhan, Mr. Gowda, the Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Shivraj Patil, the SP general secretary, Amar Singh, the RJD Lok Sabha leader, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, and the CPI(M) Rajya Sabha leader, Nilotpal Basu.

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