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BJP president L K Advani has criticised President Shankar Dayal
Sharma's handling of the recent political crisis and described the
decision to invite I K Gujral for forming the government at the
Centre as "unethical and unacceptable".
In an interview to a private TV channel, Mr Advani said the
President's decision was "absolutely" against the spirit of
democracy and spirit of the Constitution. The BJP leader, who shed
his party's reluctance to attack the President, is seen significant
as it is sure to end the speculation that BJP might not be averse
to supporting any bid by Mr Sharma to seek a second term. Political
observers, who feel that chances of Mr K R Narayanan being elevated
to the top slot have brightened, are of the view that the BJP may
not come in the way of electing a Dalit to the top slot.
Mr Advani, who was unambiguous in attacking the President for
throwing "democratic norms to winds" said the decision to give a
second chance to form a government to the "same combination of
parties that was defeated in the Lok Sabha" was unprecedented. "We
said that to the President. We used the words that this would be
unprecedented, it would be unethical and unacceptable."
The BJP leader also contradicted the President's statement that he
had extended the invitation to the leader of Opposition Atal Behari
Vajpayee. Narrating the sequence of events, Mr Advani said there
was no formal offer from the President. "In between the
conversation which was going on in respect to the United Front's
aim and the possibility of a general election and the cost of it,
he did put in a sentence saying that "Vajpayeeji aap sarkar banana
chaahe to banaiye". We said we have no such desire. But I can tell
you that it was in the course of the entire discussion relating to
should the UF be asked to form a government or not now that the
Congress has decided to restore support to it. I could sense that
it was made in the context of the entire talk in a manner that they
can say we offered them also."
Mr Advani's version is at variance with the communiqui put out by
Rashtrapthi Bhawan while inviting Mr Gujral to form the new
government. It may be recalled that the communiqui has said that
the decision was taken "because the BJP's stand that it was not in
a position to form the government".
Mr Advani, who appears to have overcome the phase of diffidence,
said that his party would not dilute the party's USP- the Hindutva
agenda. The party president, who made it clear that it would
highlight the party's agenda regardless of the reaction and
criticism, said that there was no question of 'liberalising' its
Hindu appeal or any change in its attitude to the politics of
appeasement.
"If I were to analyse the growth of the BJP in the last 10 years, I
would attribute its phenomenal growth to all the factors that are
described as searing people. It may scare certain section of the
elite who have a distorted perception of secularism and who attach
to the word Hindu a pejorative meaning. But so far as the masses
are concerned, they don't agree with this view point and that has
been shown by the phenomenal growth of the BJP during the last 10
years. And, therefore, I am not going to do anything, not even take
up the facade of liberalisation, which undermines the BJP principal
strength". This must be reassuring for its traditional support
base, which has been apprehensive about a dilution in the party's
agenda.
Mr Advani said that his party's strategy for the next elections was
not to put anything on the back-burner nor to look for allies. "I
would say my strategy, my effort, is not to put anything on the
back-burner. Anything, mind you. My approach is, as I have been
telling my state units constantly: Don't think of allies.
Strengthen your own base. Strengthen your own appeal. And allies
will come".
The BJP president, who did not foresee the Gujral government's
survival beyond 1997, said that his party would target the alien
territories of the South and East in the forthcoming Lok Sabha
elections.
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