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Stop negative politics, Advani tells Congress

Union Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani today asked the Congress to stop "negative politics" claiming it was dangerous for the country. He said he hoped the party would stick to its Pachmarhi resolution and not to go in for any coalition arrangement at the Centre.

Intervening in the debate on the confidence motion, Advani said it was not too late even now for the party to rethink its stand on opposing the motion. Leader of the Opposition Sharad Pawar had to complete the formality.

"But it is P Shiv Shankar, who is all important. If he decided to support the confidence motion, everything will be clear," he said.

Advani wanted the Congress to spell out its alternative plans before toppling this government. It would have been better if the German constitution is followed in this respect, he said, recalling former Lok Sabha speaker Shivraj Patil's reference to article 67 of the German constitution, which says that before dismissing a government, the Parliament has to elect a new leader.

Asserting that the 1998 mandate was in favour of Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition, he made it clear that even before the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam extended its support, "we had 258 members".

Responding to points raised by Pawar, Advani said had Atal Bihari Vajpayee resigned soon after the AIADMK withdrew support, it would have been against the wishes of the masses. In this connection, he said that of the five non-Congress prime ministers since 1989, only Vajpayee had completed one year in office.

This was why the Congress was getting jittery, especially in view of the coming assembly election in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, he said.

The home minister said his government had created a favourable atmosphere for India in international fora by measures that included the Pokhran II nuclear tests, the Agni II missile tests, and a pro-developmental budget.

This was why the World Bank, in its report, had to acknowledge India as the most sought-after destination in this region. As high as 60 per cent of the investments in this region are made in India, according to the report, he said.

Advani regretted that the leader of the Opposition, who was a former defence minister, had criticised the successful test-firing of the Agni II missile.

"We want to strengthen India internationally and at the same time extend our hand of friendship to Pakistan," he said.

He said the Congress ought to be careful of the moves of the Marxists. Quoting from a party report of 1996 and the last general election manifesto of the Leftists that opposed the Congress, he wondered how the same Marxists were "anxious to see a Congress government installed"

He said he sympathised with the Communists, who had been trying to grab the globe but are now confined to two corners of India.

He said the Congress's intentions and view points are clear. "But what are your alternative plans?" he asked the Marxists.

Advani accused the Congress of launching a "systematic disinformation campaign" to drive a wedge between him and Vajpayee.

"However, our party is not like the Congress. No matter what you do, you cannot break our unity," he said.

Regretting that Pawar had raised the issue of alleged attacks on Christians, the home minister said six such cases from Baripada, Jhabua and Varanasi had proved "absolutely baseless". Ever since the BJP government had come to power, the rumour has been spread around the globe that it promoted fundamentalism. Given the background of india's culture, fundamentalism can never succeed here, he said emphatically.

Advani said the government has a "special responsibility" towards the minorities. It is for the first time that the government has instituted a judicial inquiry headed by a sitting Supreme Court judge to go into the killing of a foreigner, in this case an Australian missionary and his two children in Manoharpur village of Keonjhar district of Orissa. This was to lend more credibility to the inquiry, he said.

The home minister claimed that 1998 was "by and large a riot-free year", with the lowest incidence of communal clashes in 1989-1998.

When Advani thanked the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for defeating the plan to topple the government, some AIADMK members pointed out that DMK had been calling BJP names till recently. Advani replied said in a democratic politics, there was nothing like an untouchable.

"For us even the CPI-M is not untouchable," he said.

UNI

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