New Delhi, March 6
The Congress today got a shot in the arm when it won itself a new advocate in Mr Ram
Jethmalani, its one-time bitter critic and former minister in the Vajpayee government.
Clarifying that he was not joining any party, independent Rajya Sabha member Ram Jethmalani made a strong case for all Opposition parties to sink their differences and forge a united front. It is learnt that Mr Jethmalani has been persuading UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to shed his isolationist stance and come on board the joint Opposition bandwagon.
Mr Jethmalani said he was even willing to contest against Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from Lucknow in the coming Lok Sabha elections, provided he was the combined Opposition’s choice and it was a one-to-one fight.
He was particularly scathing in
his criticism of the NDA government for the Gujarat carnage and handling of the Tehelka issue. Declaring that he was totally disillusioned with the present dispensation, he said he would do his best to ensure its defeat by bringing together the disparate opposition groups.
Addressing a joint Press conference with Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal, the former Law Minister said he believed he could play the role of a catalyst in this task and today’s Press conference was the first step in the formation of an alternative united front. “What is happening in Bihar and Tamil Nadu is nothing but the beginning of a united front emerging,” he said.
Clearly delighted that a one-man crusader like Mr Jethmalani had come out in open support of the Congress, Mr Sibal said his party was all for his initiative to forge Opposition unity.
Mr Jethmalani, who met Congress President Sonia Gandhi two weeks ago to lend support to a united opposition front, maintained he had altered his views about the Congress as the party had changed over the years.
“The Congress of 1984 is not the same as the Congress of 2004,” he explained, adding that even Ms Sonia Gandhi had recently stated that Mrs Indira Gandhi later regretted the imposition of Emergency.
As for his bitter campaign against former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on the Bofors issue, Mr Jethmalani acknowledged he may have been too harsh on him. Describing Mr Rajiv Gandhi as a young man with not enough experience, Mr Jethmalani said he allowed himself to be surrounded by people who made him take decisions which exposed him to such charges.
That Mr Jethmalani remains very much his own person was evident when he later acknowledged he was not in favour of Mrs Gandhi’s children contesting these elections. Stating that he had conveyed as much to Ms Gandhi in his meeting, he said children from political families should first join a party as volunteers, learn the ropes and then enter the electoral fray.
