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The Election Day Results Chat

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:13)

Soli Sorabjee says that if the Congress and UF wanted to go together, they could have done so the last time round, without the expense of another election.

Rediff@BJP HQ (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:13)

Mr. Kanchan Gupta, former journalist and now a BJP ideologue will be with us shortly...

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:14)

Kapil Sibal: The choice is between a prepoll alliance of 250 seats, and a post poll alliance of 270 plus. Sibal says that in such a situation, the President need not go with the first option with the attendant risk of horse-trading.

Dr Maitreyan (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:14)

The VHP and Bajrang Dal are part of the Sangh Parivar and they have their own mission.

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:15)

Dr Maitreyan: Good evening. We have been having a discussion here about the TN outcome. A lot of chatters believe that it is the BJP which revived the AIADMK's chances in TN, while I held that the BJP could make gains because Jayalalitha's party acted as the catalyst. What is your perception? Can you please share them with us?

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:16)

Sai>> I would agree, but there is a brilliant debate happening here on telly between two top notch lawyers, just doing a ball by ball here!

Rediff@BJP HQ (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:16)

Prem, Mr.Baleshwar Tyagi, BJP's finance minister of Uttar Pradesh, will be here with us any moment. Mr. Tyagi is the sole representative from Uttar Pradesh here right now...

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:17)

The debate now seems to be, should a President make up his mind based on what some leader or readers write on a piece of paper.

Rediff team @Congress HQ (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:17)

The CWC will now officially meeting either on March 4 or 5 after the Election Commission announces the complete results. The Congress Parliamentary Party will meet to elect its leader.

Rediff team @Congress HQ (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:18)

However, informal, hectic consultations are going on at the residences of many Congress leaders right now. Top Congress leaders like Sharad Pawar, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Pranab Mukherjee are scheduled to meet Mulayam Singh Yadav tonight.

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:18)

Prem: so I gathered, but I thought I would add my two bit for what it is worth:-)

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:19)

Soli Sorabjee appears to think that letters of support have no credence any more -- he believes that the President, in fact, should insist that outside support should not be allowed any more, anyone who wants to support should form part of the government. Sorabjee says, of course, that this is just a suggestion. Alternately, the leader of the party concerned should give an undertaking of support which will be placed before Parliament, and if support is withdrawn, it becomes break of Parliamentary privilege. However, Sorabjee believes the first option, of becoming part of the coalition, is the best bet.

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:19)

Prem: It is obvious that this President won't like any stigma attached to his name and will do the right thing by inviting the single largest party.

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:19)

In UP, the BJP is ahead in almost 61 seats. We were hoping we would get between 65 to 70 seats and now our hopes have become a reality.

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:23)

Kapil Sibal's argument, in the main, is that asking the the single largest party to form the government is okay if the party and its allies have a majority. But if not, says Sibal, then it invites, encourages, horse-trading, so the President should not tie himself down to the single largest party rule.

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:24)

You will remember -- while analysing those arguments -- that Sibal recently represented Jagdambika Pal, while Sorabjee represented Kalyan Singh.

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:25)

Whatever happened in UP on February 21 had a definite impact on the UP election. The poll was just for a day and within a day the bureaucracy acted according to the wishes of certain political parties and thus a damage was done.

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:26)

The Samajwadi Party has got an advantage from the poor performance of Congress and BSP. Even in Amethi, the Congress lost, though Sonia went there with her whole family. This conclusively proves that the Sonia factor has had no impact at all on the election. If the Congress couldn't win the Amethi seat, which was Rajiv Gandhi's seat, then what more can said about the Congress?

K Mohandas (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:26)

This is K Mohandas, former DGP, Tamil Nadu, welcomes you to this election results chat.

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:26)

Sai>> Yeah. Alternately, the President thinks, can the largest single party show me the numbers, or will giving it a chance invite buying and selling on the marketplace? His displeasure at Romesh Bhandari's actions appears to indicate that Narayanan might think on those lines as well, you think?

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:26)

Mr Tyagi: Can we get ready now for a UP type replay in New Delhi as well:-)

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:28)

The BSP is not performing well because the politics it plays is totally based on caste-hatred. Number 2, when Mayawati got power she looted the state with both hands.

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:29)

Even the Bahujan Samaj, the supposed caste vote-bank of the BSP, is disappointed with the BSP. They have only slogans, nothing more.

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:29)

Mr Mohandas: Good evening. Now that Coimbatore has gone the BJP way, can you share with us your perception of the blast there? Sitaram Kesri has alleged that the RSS was behind the blast -- does it hold water, in your opinion? And, why do you think there has been no headway in the blast at the RSS office in Chennai years ago?

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:31)

Sai: In Delhi the situation is different. We had a pre-poll arrangement and we lack only a few seats to get a majority. As everybody wants some sort of stability, we will get those few seats.

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:31)

Interesting point from Kapil Sibal -- he feels the President should not call anyone, he should wait for all contenders to approach him, then analyse. Sibal's argument is that if the President calls someone, it can be seen as a political message. To which Sorabjee says, then what happens if the BJP meets him first, that might be seen as a political message too! Tell you what, this beats Perry Mason.

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:32)

For Rediffers, Mr K Mohandas was the DGP of Tamil Nadu, and he was the only man in the world to have arrested LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, and it is our honour that he has joined us today.

Mohandas (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:32)

It is my privilege, Ladies and gentlemen, to greet you and have a cosy chat on the Indian election scene. According to the position received by me at 5 pm on third March in India, the party position, that is, elected members of Parliament is as follows. BJP and allies-250, Congress-147, UF-91, others-35. Since the magic figure for an absolute majority is 271, it looks as if we are again going in for a hung Parliament. Of course, some more results have to come in. And, the position of the others (small parties and independents) is known only to GOD and HORSES.

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:32)

Mr Tyagi>> Your condemnation of Mayawati just now, and the caste-based politics of the BSP, how does that jell with the fact that you took support from that party when you needed it?

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:34)

Mr Tyagi: Mr Arun Jaitley refused to hazard a guess about the possible size of Vajpayee's cabinet. Will you be more forthcoming? What will be its number, will it be bigger or smaller than Kalyan Singh's?

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:35)

The situation in UP was different. The state had no stability since 1989. Moreover the governor there is biased. If the governor had invited us immediately after the election as we were the single largest party the situation in UP wouldn't have been so bad. Also, in UP, what happened was not Dal Badal, but Dil Badal...

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:39)

Mr Tyagi>> *grin* Now that is a new one on me -- if the Congress hears you, it might decide it is okay to ally with anyone at all, saying that it is to put an end to stability! Besides, Kesri's Dil also, uh, Badal-ed vis a vis Gujral, and before him Gowda, apparently.

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:39)

Prem: There were four reasons for taking Mayawati's support. 1. To end Mulayam Singh's rule through the governor. 2. To set right the law and order situation in the state. 3. To have more development in the state. 4. To empower the legislators elected by the people of the state to form the policies of the government. None of Mayawati's policies and politics were agreeable to us but, because of these four reasons, we gave her support...

Mohandas (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:39)

Saisuresh: May I know where you are stationed? I shall first give a brief analysis of what is likely to happen instaed of going to the past, which is PAST. Communal and religious tensions are an universal phenomenon. There need not be any particular reason except religious and communal fervour. As I said, it is not peculiar to India. What I learnt during my service, it will be there as long as the world lasts. All that we can do in the police, the administration and political centres of power is to bring it down to the extent possible. What I have stated so far would probably inform you that it is not correct to isolate TN in this field. Take Bihar and Kashmir, for example. Or, for that matter, what is happening in Iraq, Iran, Japan, US, UK... And I can go on like this indefinitely. Unfortunately the politics in India -- mind you -- not in TN alone is taking advantage of communal tensions to increase their vote bank.

Mohandas (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:40)

If you are honest, you are nowhere. If you are dishonest, you get money and power.

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:41)

Sai: I can only tell that UP is not the rule. It is the exception. We have been forced to do this in a crisis to maintain governance in the state and to facilitate progress... It was Apat Dharam...

Rediff Team, Congress HQ: (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:41)

There is silence in the Congress office now. Only two top Congress leaders -- Sitaram Kesri and Ghulam Nabi Azad -- came to the party office today. Those defeated -- Congress Working Committee members like Arjun Singh, Oscar Fernandes and R K Dhawan -- did not make any appearance.

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:42)

The cabinet may be big but the governance is good, and the people of UP have voted for good governance...

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:42)

Mr Tyagi>> I was playing Devil's Advocate... continuing the role, I would say even a Kesri would give logical reasons for whatever he does. Never mind -- how does one justify an alliance of the BJP with, say, Jayalalitha, Gopalaswamy and Subramanian Swamy? Here, the governor and suchlike are not involved, so...?

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:43)

Mr Mohandas: I am stationed in Mumbai, at the Rediff office. There was an interesting question about the circumstances surrounding your apprehension of Prabhakaran. Perhaps you will share your memories with us?

Rediff Team, Congress HQ: (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:44)

Though the Congress has declared that it will form the government, the intricacies of piecing together a Congress-led coalition is not easy. Therefore, the Congress leaders have begun hectic negotiations with the United Front partners to patch up a coalition.

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:45)

Sharad Pawar said in Bombay today that he will strive to make the formation of a secular front, headed by the Congress (which presumably will be headed by him) a reality. The President would be approached soon as an agreement is reached with the other parties, and insist on their participation in the government.

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:46)

It seems that the misinformation campaign against BJP had its impact on you. Muslims have more faith in our governance because they are a part of the government and development. The Shia-Sunni conflict in Lucknow during the Azadari procession which ended in many deaths every year for more than two decades stopped for the first time when Kalyan Singh intervened and settled it amicably. This time the Azadari procession was taken out peacefully...

Rediff Team, Congress HQ: (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:47)

The CPI-M and CPI leaders are holding consultations among themselves. The Left Front is ecstatic that they have emerged as the single largest bloc in the United Front. But the hot question is whether they should support a Congress-led government or not..

Mohandas (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:47)

Prabhakaran was arrested twice by me. The first one was in 1983, if my memory serves me right, following a shootout between him and Uma Maheswaran of the EPRLF in Madras city. He was remanded to judicial custody but the judge took a lenient view because neither was hurt. The second time was on November 8 1986. (I remember it correctly because my superiors in Delhi used to call it my finest hour.) The arrest followed the seizure of large stocks of modern weapons and ammunitions brought into India against the laws of the land. As former police chief Arul put it, it was an insult and an affront to the integrity and order of India. He continued to say that it was left to me to restore Indian soverignity and Indian order. (I don't know whether I derserved this compliment but I accepted it in all humility.)

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:49)

There is no reason not to trust Naresh Agarwal. He was trapped into supporting Mr Pal but he made it very clear to us that he was only interested in supporting Mr Kalyan Singh in UP. But he will now have to prove himself once again to the people of UP.

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:50)

Mr Mohandas: Thank you for sharing with us those glorious moments. But what went wrong after that? How did Tamil Nadu become a haven for terrorists and the like? Why did Indians allow this to happen to India?

Manish Tiwari, Joint Secretary, AICC (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:51)

The performance of the Congress is definitely better than it was last time. The Congress has been able to do extremely well in certain states, especially Rajasthan and Maharashtra. We have suffered certain setbacks, for example in Punjab. On the whole, the Congress is quite satisfied as the results have more or less matched our internal expectations. Give or take a few seats.

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:51)

Rediff-Congress>> Surjeet pretty much said his party would. Is there a debate within the Left leaders about that?

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:52)

Prem: The highest court in the land is the court of the people. When Tamil Nadu itself has accepted the BJP-Jayalalitha alliance and given it such a resounding majority who are we, or anyone else, to object?

Manish Tiwari, Joint Secretary, AICC (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:53)

It is quite evident that the mandate is not for the BJP. The gains which the BJP has made are actually the gains of their allies in different states. All the seats and the votes which have gone to the non-BJP parties definitely constitute the essence of the mandate against fundamentalism. So therefore with the erstwhile UF and the Congress coming together a stable government can definitely come into existence.

Mohandas (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:53)

First, I must tell you I retired from service in 1990. But still once an intelligence officer, always an intelligence officer. It is true that there were fairly early signals from the central and TN intelligence agencies about the impending holocaust in Coimbatore. Instead of taking proper action in his capacity as CM, Mr Karunanidhi made a public speech stating that "rivers of blood will flow in Tamil Nadu if the BJP was voted to power." Of course, rivers of blood did flow but before any party was elected to power. What else can you expect from a CM who held parleys with sandalwood smuggler Veerappan (through an intermediary) who had confessed to committing 133 murders? What else can you expect from the bureaucracy and the police whose hands are tied?

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:54)

Mr Tyagi>> To further the argument, the people have returned known history-sheeters to Parliament. Does that then justify criminality? We both know documented instances of goons using muscle to capture booths and be elected, can that person then turn round and say hey, the people elected us? My basic question being, does the "people's mandate", like death, wipe out all sins?

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:55)

Saisuresh: I have no police record. It was Sanjay Gandhi in the country and Mulayam Singh in UP who encouraged criminal elements to join politics... Earlier, these elements used to capture booths for various political parties, today they do it for themselves and win elections...

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:56)

Mr Tiwari>> If the Congress and the United Front can see their way to forming a government now, it begs the question -- why couldn't this have been done earlier, saving us all much heartburn, not to mention several hundred crores?

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:56)

Mr Mohandas: Interestingly, Mr Karuppaiah Moopanar today said that the DMK-TMC combine suffered in the state because of the Coimbatore blasts. Can you bat that in a political manner?

Manish Tiwari, Joint Secretary, AICC (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:56)

Politics is not always about arithmetic and percentages. There is a certain logic to it which is dictated by the ground reality. And the ground reality is that all those forces who went to the people on a secular platform or to be more specific on an anti-BJP, anti-fundamentalism platform are bound by the logic of their mandate to deliver a government to the people.

Manish Tiwari, Joint Secretary, AICC (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:59)

Prem: The Congress went to the people on certain issues and certain policies. But the bottom line was a secular, stable and non-fundamentalist polity. Unfortunately, the Congress has not been able to get past the magic figure for a majority. Therefore, it becomes an inherent compulsion of the situation that we align with all those forces who share a similar bottomline and do justice to the best extend possible to the electorate in particular and ofcourse to the nation.

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:59)

Mr Tiwari: When you say that a front that has secured 250 seats has not got a mandate, do you want us to believe that the mandate is for a combination of two opposing forces who fought the elections bitterly against each other but who have no qualms about coming together now? Come on, even you can't be that naive to expect us to swallow this:-)

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 6:59)

It is not true that we have allied with anyone and everyone.. The issue of the Mandir doesn't exist any more. There is a temple existing there. No one is saying that they are going to break down the temple. The BJP has already said that they will solve this issue either amicably or thru the court. This issue is not of primary importance. What is more important is tackling problems like poverty, unemployment, corruption and giving a stable governemnt to the country...

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:1)

Mr Tyagi: Thank you for answering my question about criminalisation. Tell me, without mixing politics here, isn't commendable that Mulayam singly was able to halt the BJP's advance in Uttar Pradesh, that but for him your party would have run away with UP? Don't answer this is as a BJP man, but neutrally please.

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:2)

Manish Tiwari>> Thank you for your response. However, it is a broad statement -- te specific question was, how do you allay the nation's fear that the same interpersonal, or even intra-party, dyspepsia that made our politics a mess during the past 18 months wont be repeated, given the players are the same?

Mohandas (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:2)

Saisuresh: This is what happened after that. The influx of Sri Lankan militants into TN and their training by the central police forces in various part of the country was done without the knowledge of the TN police. I am not sure whether MGR, the then CM was politically briefed by Indira Gandhi and later Rajiv Gandhi, about this strategic significance of having a hold on Sri Lanka where Americans had reportedly started a base in Trincomalee harbour.

Now coming to my arrest of the militants and seizure of nearly 40 crores worth of armaments. It was primarily intended to prevent the growth of gun and bomb culture in TN. Immedaitely thereafter there was a change of direction in the political wind in New Delhi because Prabhakaran went on an indefinte fast. I was out of India at that time. The Centre pressurised MGR to return all the armaments seized by me back to the militants. And my deputies had to necessarily obey the orders from above. On my return to India, I met MGR and put in my resignation. What followed after that is another big story. You may probably profit by reading my book, MGR, the Man and the Myth.

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:2)

This is the prerogative of the PM. We have many people in the party who are capable of handling this post...

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:5)

As I said earlier the temple already exisits. We only need to make it more beautiful. And we choose to do so in a democratic and constitutional fashion, either thru the court, Parliament or negotiation.

Mohandas (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:5)

Saisuresh: I will bat it for a SIXER, not only in a political sense but also in many other important -- and top secret -- manner.

Manish Tiwari, Joint Secretary, AICC (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:6)

Saisuresh: Well, politics is on the basis of a given situation and existing reality. I am not denying the fact that the United Front constituents and the Congress fought each other in certain states. But this was because the constituents of the UF are separate political parties who did not want to give up their respective presence in various states or in various regions. But even during the election campaign, we never questioned their secular credentials. And neither did they raise the same question about the Congress.

When you are faced with a situation whereby the BJP-led front has 250 odd seats in terms of leadings and the Congress and the UF put together have 20 more than them in terms of leadings, would you say that the mandate is for the BJP-combine? Under these circumstances, you have a minimum level of understanding with all those forces which subscribe to the fundamental tenet that it is important to keep the Indian nation secular, pluralistic and, more importantly, non-fascist.

And then you try and build upon that further and identify areas of co-operation which would help in the smooth running of a government. The qualitative difference between 1996 and now is that in 1996 there were negotiations between various constituents of the UF first and then with the Congress. In 1998, the major constituents of the UF including the Left have unequivocally declared that they are not averse to supporting a Congress-led government.

Baleshwar Tyagi, minister of finance, Uttar Pradesh (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:7)

I am grateful to the people for expressing their faith in the BJP and Atalji. He is the only person fit for this post and we are the only party that can give this country a stable government. Thank you and goodbye.

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:8)

Mr Tiwari, Mr Tyagi>> This is for you both -- would you please define "secular" for us? We keep hearing this word... but it seems to mean all things to all people... we would love a firm definition... could you oblige?

Rediff@BJP HQ (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:8)

We have with us Mr Govindacharya.

Manish Tiwari, Joint Secretary, AICC (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:10)

Prem: Well, your apprehensions are very genuine and your are correct that they need to be allayed. The only thing that I would say to that is in 1996 it was the first-ever experiment which the Congress had with a coalition government at the Centre. An inherent element of instability was built into the arrangement as the largest party was not a part of the government. A: This will not be situation this time. B: We will build upon the experience of the last time and ensure that we do not repeat what the people consider to be mistakes, which even I would personally be not averse to agreeing to.

Mohandas (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:10)

Veerappan has been a sandalwood smuggler for nearly fourteen years. Not only Walter Dawaram but a crack squad of the Border Security Force from New Delhi were on his trail for years but without success. If you do not know the reason why, then I am sorry to say that you do not know what is happening not only in TN but also in India. Sandalwood means big money and politicians, including MLAs, MPs, police officers and forest officials, were in his pay roll. Now there is no talk of Veerappan because he is busy distributing money to politicians of all hues.

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:10)

Mr Tyagi, thank you for sparing the time to be here with us.

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:11)

Mr Govindacharya, welcome to the Rediff Chat.

GOVINDACHARYA (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:11)

The BJP will rule India. The RSS and SJM are above party and power politics. The BJP is inspired by the ideology of the RSS, but there is a special type of relationship between these organisations. On 3 counts, each organisation is self-dependent. 1. Policy formulation and decision-making 2. Organisational finances 3. Who should hold which responsibility, cadre building.

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:12)

Mr Tiwari>> Essentially, what you are saying is, better sense will prevail! :-)

GOVINDACHARYA (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:13)

Therefore, there is no question of the RSS, SJM governing India. That task is to be fulfilled in the desired manner by the BJP itself. People in the BJP are competent and experienced enough. The RSS also thinks that people in the field are the best judge of the situations. Therefore, it doesn't interfere or control.

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:13)

Mr Govindacharya: Good evening, and welcome to this chat. This is a borrowed question from Shalini, one of our chief chatters: now that Jaswant Singh has lost, who will be Vajpayee's finance minister? Yashwant Sinha? Suresh Prabhu? Will Kalmadi anyway make it into the cabinet, via the RS? Or Jaswant, for that matter?

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:14)

Mr Tiwari: Thank you for answering my offensive-sounding question peacefully. Tell me, since it is sure that Sonia will not become PM, can you think of a better candidate for the post than Sharad Pawar, if, that is, your party forms the government?

Prem Panicker (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:14)

Mr Govindacharya>> The Congress has announced that it plans to make a bid to form the next government. How does the BJP plan to counter it?

Manish Tiwari, Joint Secretary, AICC (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:15)

I never said that politics is pure arithmetic. If I recapitulate your question correctly, it was 'As the BJP-led front has 250-odd leadings, how would you say you have the mandate?' My answer was that all those parties who went to the people as non-BJP forces in different states in essence differ in the way that the BJP and its allies look at things. Therefore, the minimum mandate the people have given all these non-BJP forces is to keep the polity non-fundamentalist, that is, secular.

Here I would define secular as the state not interfering or patronising any religion, but leaving the people free to pursue whatever form of worship they want. Secularism means not only respecting the rights of the religious, but the agnostic and the athiest at the same time. Now coming back to your question, it is that all these non-BJP forces have a minimum mandate which they need to actualise and convert into an effort to form a government and then impart it with the stability required.

Mohandas (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:15)

Corruption exists not only in TN, not only in India, but all over the world. You must have heard what happened in Korea and Japan recently. I have no further to comments to make except to quote Mrs. Indira Gandhi who went on record to say that corruption and its connection with politicians and criminals is a universal phenomenon. I wonder why you or Mrs Indira Gandhi did not include the bureaucrat and the policemen in the nexus.

GOVINDACHARYA (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:16)

Overall, the result was as expected. Reverses in Rajasthan and Maharashtra beyond expectations; in Tamil Nadu too it was in our favour beyond anybody's expectation.

GOVINDACHARYA (Tue Mar 3 1998 7:18)

Prem: The number of seats won by the Congress doesn't permit the formation of government by the Congress. Even if you take the allies of the BJP together and compare it with the Congress seats + UF seats then also we lead. Therefore, there is no question of the Congress forming government without the BJP getting the chance first.