HVK Archives: Vajpayee picks social planks for BJP's next ride
Vajpayee picks social planks for BJP's next ride - Economic Times
Political Bureau
()
June 4th 1996
Title : Vajpayee picks social planks for BJP's next ride
Author: Political Bureau
Publication : Economic Times
Date : 4th June, 1996
The BJP under Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee's stewardship seems to
have
altered its priorities on the national agenda: social issues are
on the top while the economic ones will play a second fiddle.
This is the impression, Mr Vajpayee gave in his interaction with
the press here at the Indian Merchants Chamber, Monday afternoon.
The former Prime Minister, later addressed a mammoth public
meeting at the sprawling Shivaji Park, signalling the
commencement of the BJP's nation-wide campaign to secure,
what
the party calls, a full electoral mandate. Earlier, immediately
on his arrival in the city in the morning, Mr Vajpayee called on
the Shiv Sena chief, Mr Bal Thackeray and had an hour-long
discussion with him.
"We want social issues to be on the top of the national agenda;
public health, education, child nutrition and women's welfare
must get the attention they need," he said emphatically.
Does he see any areas of co-operation with the Deve Gowda
government on the economic front? "That depends," he said, "On
what is going to be the new government's economic policy. We are
yet to know that. We cannot respond positively if they continue
the same old Congress policy. We are against the licence-quota
Raj. But we do not believe in leaving everything to the market
forces."
Mr Vajpayee described the United Front (UF) as opportunistic
arrangement, full of inherent contradictions. "The people are
not amused by the spectacle, wherein the Prime Minister pledges
his commitment to the previous government's policies even as he
remains hostage to the support of dogmatic communists to survive
in power," he said.
He further charged that all those parties, which until last
month, were lambasting the Congress for pursuing an economic
policy that, had, "Brought disastrous consequences for the
people" and had "Mortgaged the sovereignty of the nation" had now
allowed the very same Congress to do backseat-driving in a,
"Disjointed vehicle called the United Front government. "India
is bound to suffer many mishaps and tragedies before this strange
vehicle runs itself aground." he contended.
The BJP leader welcomed the new government's move to earmark
60
per cent of the budget for agriculture and rural development,
which he said was a key electoral promise earlier made by the
BJP.
"But where is the UF government going to find money for this
purpose, especially since it retains its commitment to continue
with the previous government's policies? Marxist dogmna and free
market mechanism are sought to be reconciled. By the time the
country realises that Marx and the market do not mix, this
government would have gone," he asserted.
However, when asked how long he expected the UF government
to
last, Mr Vajpayee declined to specify, saying, "I do not know. I
cannot make any forecast." He, however, said he did not rule out
the possibility of a mid-term poll in the country.
When asked if the BJP would help the new government arriving at a
broad consensus on some key national issues, the former Prime
Minister said his party's response would depend on the policies
the government adopted. "If they are for any such consensus,
they certainly did not give any indication of that during the
recent debate in the Lok Sabha on vote of confidence. They had
shown a pernicious attitude of if-you-are-not-with-us you-are-
against-us. Now that they are in power, I hope they realise that
they would need consensus to run this vast country," he said.
Mr Vajpayee strongly defended his government's decision to clear
the Enron power project in Maharashtra, and claimed it involved
no question of propriety since the decision did not involve any
new liabilities or new elements.
He vehemently denied reports about his government having made
photo copies of certain confidential and sensitive files before
it fell, "That was fictitious stuff," he said.
The BJP leader thanked the Manohar Joshi government in
Maharashtra for promptly acting on his suggestion for reviving
the Srikrishna Commission probing the communal riots in Mumbai in
1992 and 1993. He saw nothing unusual in the Joshi government
reversing its won earlier decision to scrap the commission.
"Governments do think and rethink on various issues in a
democracy," he added.
Mr Vajpayee said his party accepted the electoral verdict in
troubled Kashmir valley and said the results showed that the
people there were fed up of terrorist violence.
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