The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Tuesday, October 3, 2000,
Chandigarh, India

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NCP attacks NDA, Cong
From S. Satyanarayanan
Tribune News Service

NAGPUR, Oct 2 — The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today said the “infighting” in the NDA government at the Centre and the “ineptness” of the main Opposition party, the Congress, would lead to emergence of a “third force” in the country but maintained it had no immediate plans to join any such alliance.

“The sharp difference among the NDA partners and the ineptness of the Congress would definitely lead to emergence of a third force but we have not made up our mind of joining any such alliance,” the NCP president, Mr Sharad Pawar, told reporters after the national conventions of the party here. However, Mr Pawar said he was holding consultation with like-minded parties to form a “pressure group” to oppose the NDA’s economic policies, especially in respect to its import policies under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime without taking adequate steps to protect the interest of indigenous industries and the farmers.

“I have been holding consultations with Mr Deve Gowda, Mr Ajit Singh, Prof Madhu Dandavate and others. But this should not be seen as we taking a lead in forming a third front,” he said. He said from April next year 350 items would come under the free import category as per the WTO agreement, which would hit hard the farmers and small-scale industries in the country.

“I am not saying that India should not be part of the WTO. But the Centre should take adequate steps to protect Indian industries and farmers. There are ample provisions in the WTO agreement itself and the only thing lacking is that the Centre is not taking adequate steps,” he said.

The NCP chief said though he was not averse to economic liberalisation his party valued the principle of ‘swadeshi’, which was different from the ideology of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch.

Spelling his party’s future programme, Mr Pawar said the party’s effort would be to slowly but steadily widen its base across the country and strengthen further the party’s position where its presence was already there.

Reacting to the recent resignation of the Trinamool Congress chief Ms Mamata Banerjee, and her party colleague Ajit Kumar Panja from the NDA Cabinet on the petroleum price issue, Mr Pawar said, “The NDA had been an unholy and unrealistic alliance and this kind of threat and counter-threat was bound to happen.” The NCP chief, however, said there was no “immediate” threat to the Vajpayee government as the arithmetic of seats was in favour of it.

Top party functionary and former Lok Sabha Speaker Mr P.A Sangma said his party’s main focus would be on strengthening the party units in Assam, West Bengal and Kerala as these three states would face assembly elections early next year.

As for Uttar Pradesh, which would also face assembly poll next year, Mr Sangma said his party had some presence there though it had to go a long way in strengthening it. But he made it clear that it was not interested at the moment in focusing on Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, which would also go to the polls early next year.

In a virtual “play-safe” move on the formation of a new state of Vidarbha, the party president, Mr Sharad Pawar, said his party would support the resolution in this regard, if brought out by the BJP and the Congress, which have more MLAs and MPs in the region. “We have full respect for the sentiments of the people of Vidarbha and if the BJP and the Congress bring a resolution we would support it. But if they try to play politics on the issue then our view will be different,” he said.

He further said as per the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K Advani, the Centre won’t move ahead with any proposal of formation of a new state unless there was unanimous resolution in that regard in the state Assembly.

However, Mr Pawar explained that even before the resolution for the formation of the three states of Uttaranchal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh was introduced in Parliament the party had clearly said it was in favour of small states subject to their economic viability.

To a question how one could judge the people’s view or sentiments on the formation of the new Vidarbha state, Mr Pawar said, “It could be judged from the MLAs and MPs of the region, who are the representatives of the people.”

Mr Sangma, who had as the then Minister of State of Home in Rajiv Gandhi’s Cabinet headed a committee on Vidarbha in 1985, said, “My view in the committee report was in favour of a separate state of Vidarbha and even today I am in favour of it as there is no problem of its viability.” He said he was personally in favour of smaller states depending on its viability and the number of states in the country could be about 50 for speedy development.

Asked to comment on the party’s resolution strongly attacking the Congress but still continuing an alliance partner in the Maharashtra Government, Mr Pawar said, “It was political compulsion which forced us to join hands with the Congress despite our strong reservation against joining the government. But this does not restrain us from our taking a view at the national level and promoting our ideology and party in other states across the country.” When asked to react on his statement asking Congressmen to join the NCP, Mr Sangma said his invitation was for those who had already left the Congress and also those who were still continuing to be in the Congress. He quickly said, “But it does not apply to the present Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi.”

On the recent derecognition of the CPM as a national party by the Election Commission, Mr Sangma said, “There was no choice for the Election Commission but for derecognising the CPM under the present laws. But I feel that under the changed political circumstances the Election Commission should review the laws.

Earlier, the national convention was attended by at least 400 delegates and thousands of party workers from across the country, including the NCP’s lone MLA from, Haryana and the party’s pradesh president, Mr Jagjeet Singh, Punjab Pradesh president, Mr Swaran Singh, its vice-president, Mr Rajinder Singh Sihoda, and Chandigarh unit president, Gurbachan Singh.