PM launches campaign
From A.S.Prashar
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Aug 7 — The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, today administered a stern warning to Pakistan against fomenting terrorist and disruptive activities in different parts of the country and emphasised that there was a limit to India’s patience and restraint.

Addressing a massive gathering here to mark the launching of the election campaign of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, the Prime Minister sought a clear verdict from the people for his party.

He said the Indian forces, too, could have gone across the LoC to hit back at Pakistan at Kargil. But this was not done. Today, the restraint exercised by India in containing and beating back Pakistan’s misadventure across the LoC, was being praised the worldover. "But we have had to pay a heavy price for it," he pointed out.

After its debacle in Kargil, Pakistan was trying to step up violence and terrorist activities in different parts of the country. "There is a determined and deliberate attempt. But I want to assure the countrymen that just as we have thwarted Pakistan’s misadventure in Kargil, we will foil its attempt to step up terrorist activities also", he declared amid slogans of "Bole so nihal, Sat Sri Akal" from the gathering.

The gathering, with a large sprinkling of women, heard the Prime Minister’s 10-minute-long speech in rapt attention. It frequently cheered him, especially when he praised the valour displayed by the Indian jawan who did not hesitate to lay down his life for safeguarding the honour and territorial integrity of Mother India. Two leading industrialists of Ludhiana, Mr O.P. Munjal, and Mr Sunil Kant Munjal, representing the Hero group of industries, presented a cheque of Rs 50 lakh to the Prime Minister for the Defence Fund.

The Prime Minister said the intruders had been identified as regulars in the Pakistani army. But Pakistan refused to accept the fact. In order to keep up the charade, it did not accept even the bodies of its own soldiers killed by Indian jawans.

"Even in war, there are certain ground rules. A soldier who has fallen in combat must be given due honour. Since Pakistan was unwilling to do so, we had to bury their dead. Our soldiers laid to rest the enemy according to Islamic rites", he said.

Referring to Pakistan’s eagerness to resume talks with India, the Prime Minister said how could the talks be held when Pakistan had unleashed violence and stepped up terrorist activities in different parts of India. Talks, if and when held, must be productive and conducted in a "proper" atmosphere. Pakistan-sponsored terrorism had vitiated the atmosphere. Pakistan must undertake to respect and honour the international border and LoC by eschewing cross-border terrorism.

Mr Vajpayee said he had undertaken a bus-ride to Lahore in a bid to eliminate the 50-year old bitterness between India and Pakistan and open a new a chapter in the history of the two countries. But it should now be clear to the whole world that just as Lahore symbolised India’s desire for peace, Kargil represented India’s determination to go to any extent to safeguard its honour and territorial integrity. People of Jammu and Kashmir wanted peace and progress but Pakistan did not seem to understand this.

The Prime Minister sought a clear majority from the people in the elections due for next month. "Give me a clear majority and I will give you a strong and prosperous India", he said amidst cheer. "My government was brought down by just one vote. And those who did it could not form an alternative government. You must ask them why they did it. The fall of his government by one vote showed how important a single vote could be. Therefore, every voter must exercise his right to franchise carefully and honestly so that we have a clear majority in the Lok Sabha and are able to serve the people in a better way".

The Prime Minister said the common man was tired of the politics of allegations and counter-allegations. "I stayed in the Opposition for 40 years. But I made no compromise to come to power. But the Congress was not willing to wait. It conspired with our erstwhile partner to bring down our government."

Mr Vajpayee said the BJP-led NDA symbolised the diversity of the country. It represented a party from every corner. The BJP’s partnership with the Akali Dal was not for sharing power. The two had fought together against the Emergency. Although his party was in power for just 13 months, even in this short spell the country had made all-round progress. It was accepted by all that India had become stronger during the past one year. Kargil was a part of that strength. The economic situation had also improved. It was being predicted that India would bow before the sanctions and its international isolation would increase.

But the economic situation had improved and India’s isolation had ended. Foreign exchange reserves had touched a new high. Inflation was at its lowest ever mark. The last budget presented by the BJP government had begun to show results. Prices tended to rise during war. But no such thing happened during the Kargil conflict. There had been a record food production. Nation’s self-confidence had grown.

The Prime Minister’s rally held in the playground of the local Government College was attended, among others, by the Chief Minister of Punjab, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, his Haryana counterpart, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, the local SAD MP, Mr Amrik Singh Aliwal, Union Minister Surjit Singh Barnala, the SGPC chief, Bibi Jagir Kaur, the national general secretary of the BJP, Mr Narendra Modi, the Punjab BJP chief, Mr Daya Singh Sodhi, BSM leader Satnam Singh Kainth, local BJP MP, Lala Lajpat Rai and SAD leader Jagdev Singh Talwandi.

All praised the leadership qualities of Mr Vajpayee and said the country was safe in his hands. They were critical of the Congress and its allies which had "forced" the elections on the country.

Mr Badal praised the mature and far-sighted leadership of Mr Vajpayee and criticised the Congress for trying to foist a person of foreign origin as Prime Minister on the country. He predicted a "pro-Vajpayee wave" before the elections.

Mr Om Parkash Chautala attacked Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origins and said she was not familiar with the problems of the country and its people. He also announced that Kurukshetra University would be re-named after the Tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, to mark the tercentenary of the birth of the Khalsa.

Mr Surjit Singh Barnala listed the achievements of the Vajpayee government. Mr Narendra Modi criticised the Congress for opposing "proxy vote".

Sidelights
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA: People began convering on the venue for the joint rally by the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party from 9 a.m. onwards. People from all walks and from places as far as Amritsar, Bathinda and Nawanshahr came to participate. A huge waterproof tent, 250 feet by 450 feet, had been erected to seat 40,000 people. Eighteen enclosures had been made in the pandal and 18 more enclosures outside.

Irrespective of the heat and humidity, the gathering was impressive. However, it comprised mostly people from rural areas. Local participation was almost minimal.

* * *

The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, arrived at 12.30 p.m. by then heat and humidity had almost dampened the enthusiasm of the people. Although arrangements had been made to provide drinking water, the "chhabils" were at distance from the main pandal and people complained of difficulty in reaching there.

* * *

Life in city was disrupted due to the security arrangements. The entire area around the venue of the rally, S.D. Government College for Boys, and the route taken by the Prime Minister, was cordoned. Most shops remained closed. Traffic jams at the city's main entrance points were reported.

Superstar of yesteryear and former member of Parliament Vinod Khanna created a stir when he arrived at 1 p.m.

Besides the Prime Minister, the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, Minister of State for Industry Sukhbir Badal, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertiliser, Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, SGPC President Bibi Jagir Kaur, the national General Secretary of the BJP, Mr Narinder Modi, Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurdev Singh Badal, and the Chief of the Punjab unit of the BJP, Mr Daya Singh Sodhi, could be seen on the 12 ft-high dais.

BJP to seek positive vote
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Aug 7 — The BJP will prefer to highlight the positive achievements of the Vajpayee government during the past 16 months instead of replying to the negative campaign launched by the opposition parties during the run up to the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Performance and not promise will be the selling point of the BJP in its campaign.

"From Pokhran to Kargil, diplomatic victory to economic management and Cauvery to infrastructure development and several other achievements of the government will be highlighted during the campaign" party spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said.

The "tall stature" of the Prime Minister would be used to maximum advantage to dwarf the main opposition leader, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, who the party spokesperson said had no administrative experience and no record of serving the nation.

Mrs Swaraj clarified that the negative talk against the Congress and other parties was not initiated by the BJP and it was a mere rejoinder to what was coming from them.

Summing up the "negative" campaign launched by the Congress, Mrs Swaraj said "it was a campaign of lies, more lies and only lies".

In a direct attack on Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her assertion on television that the BJP did not know what "stuff" she was made of, the party spokesperson said "now that the elections are near and all indications are that neither the stuff of which the Congress President is made of nor her staff whose speeches she has been parroting will help the Congress improve its parliamentary strength".

Referring to Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s practice of reading out prepared speeches, Mrs Swaraj said "if by chance her written speech is swept away by winds, it would become a national embarrassment."

Mrs Swaraj reiterated the party’s demand for national debate on the issues raised by the Congress and other opposition parties, including the Left parties.

She said in sharp contrast to the negativism of the Congress campaign, the BJP was contesting the forthcoming elections with optimism and confidence. "We are seeking a positive vote for a decisive mandate so that the Vajpayee Government has full five-year term", she added.