PM blames Opposition for
poll
Tribune
News Service
CHANDIGARH, Aug 19
— Those involved in the Bofors payoffs will soon be
brought before law, the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari
Vajpayee, said here today while accusing Opposition
parties for forcing the Lok Sabha elections on the
nation.
Addressing an impressive
rally at the Sector 17 Parade Ground to launch the
election campaign of Mr Krishan Lal Sharma, Senior
Vice-President of the Bharatiya Janata Party and a
candidate for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, Mr Vajpayee
said the performance of his 13-month-old government was
only a trailer and a lot needed to be done to make the
country self-reliant and a vibrant democracy.
The Prime Minister,
whose arrival to the city was delayed by a little more
than an hour, spoke for more than 40 minutes as the venue
of the rally, which had big open spaces in the beginning,
was nearly packed when he started his address. His speech
was punctuated with slogan-shouting and clapping from the
audience which otherwise listened to him with apt
attention.
Corruption, the Prime
Minister said, was a major issue. One major deficiency in
the fight against corruption had been attempts by the
previous governments to keep the Prime Minister out of
the purview of any prosecution.
"The BJP feels that
all citizens are equal. There is a very little difference
between an MP and a PM. The Bill we introduced in
Parliament has a provision to prosecute the Prime
Minister. The corruption flows from top to bottom. There
has to be transparency at all levels," he said.
Talking about Bofors
payoffs, Mr Vajpayee said those involved in the case
would soon be brought before prosecution. Those who want
more details can go to the courts and see the documents
there, he added.
Some of the tasks left
incomplete included reservation for women in Parliament.
"If women have reservation in panchayats, municipal
committees and corporations, why not in Parliament? We
introduced the women's reservation Bill. It was virtually
'snatched'. We had to send 'marshals' to get it back. We
want it to be passed.
"Even after 50
years of Independence, I sometimes feel pained when I
find children, instead of going to schools, working at
dhabas. Though we cannot take them off dhabas
immediately, at least we can make arrangements for their
studies during their free time, " Mr Vajpayee said.
Criticising Opposition
parties for bringing down his government by just one
vote, Mr Vajpayee said when the BJP-led government
assumed power at the Centre, the economy was in bad
shape. Because of unkind weather, the agricultural
production was low. The foreign exchange reserves were
shrinking. The Opposition expected us to fail because of
the multiplicity of problems.
"With support from
friendly alliance partners, we kindled a new ray of hope
for countrymen. First we thought of strengthening the
security environment. After 1974 when Mrs Indira Gandhi
had decided to go for first nuclear tests at Pokhran, we
decided to follow it up. Even at that time, we had
welcomed nuclear tests. Our party has always been working
in the interests of national security and always wanted
India to be 'powerful'.
"We did not bow to
any pressures. We knew economic sanctions would be
coming. But made those sanctions ineffective. This was
also criticised by Opposition parties saying the country
had been isolated.
"When we faced the
problem of improving economy, the results are all before
us. We have the lowest inflation rate in past 17 years.
The prices are under control. Both agricultural and
industrial production have gone up. Efforts are being
made to revive sick industrial units. The tax collections
have gone up. Baffled at our success, the Opposition got
together to dislodge us.
“We sat in the
Opposition for 40 years and always worked for the nation.
We did not change parties. But those after 45 years of
misrule could not perform their duty of sitting in the
Opposition. We agreed to seek vote of confidence and one
vote by a Chief Minister dislodged the Prime
Minister,” he said .
The Congress must answer
who forced polls on the nation.
In the meanwhile, our
neighbour, thinking the country to be instable and not
paying any attention to its defence, planned to take
advantage of the situation.They tried to intrude into our
territory. It was one of the most intense battles and we
pushed them back. We could have crossed Line of Control.
But we used the force to the extent required. This has
once again reiterated our stand that India is a peaceful
country and wants to live in peace. This has enhanced our
image, prestige and status the world over. We remained
firm in our resolve to free each inch of every land from
the intruders.
“This has not been
my victory. It is the victory of our jawans, our
officers, our Air Force. Yes, I agree that it was our
policies and programme which were in accordance with the
aspirations of the people,” Mr Vajpayee added.
Talking about the
Opposition, he said there was so much confusion that it
could not decide who would contest from where. “See
their programmes and compare it with ours,” he
added.
“Our government was
toppled by one vote. So I am here to ask for your one
vote. If every awakened citizen gives us one vote, we
will form the next government at the Centre. Your one
vote can help us make one strong, self-reliant,
developing and transparent nation,” he said.
He also talked about his
Lahore bus yatra and maintained that all disputes and
problems could be resolved through negotiations. “If
there is pressure to sort out all our problems through
negotiations or in accordance with the Simla Agreement,
these are meant for Pakistan and not for us. We have
always been honouring the agreement and want all problems
sorted out through negotiations. Now it is Pakistan which
wants to hold talks with us,” he added.
Earlier, on his arrival,
the Prime Minister was received at the venue of the rally
by Mr K.L. Sharma, Mr Narendra Modi, Mr Satya Pal Jain,
Mr Gurpartap Singh Riar and Mr Dharam Pal Gupta.
Mr Sharma in his brief
address announced that he would formulate a five-year
plan for the multifacet development of Chandigarh, get
building bylaws amended, work for one-rank one- pension
for ex-servicemen and make every effort to get pucca
houses and regular ration cards for those living in
colonies and villages, besides solving other local
problems.
Mr Jain highlighted the
achievements, including the Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail
link, Chandigarh Kendra of Doordarshan, 5,000 EWS houses,
captive power generation unit for Chandigarh, flyover at
Transport Chowk and photo identity cards for roadside
workers.
Mr Riar, President of
the local unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal, wanted a
permanent solution to the helmet issue besides suggesting
that a suitable memorial must be raised in Chandigarh to
commemorate the tercentenary celebrations of the birth of
Khalsa here, as no official function was held to mark the
occasion in the city.
Mr Modi, General
Secretary of the party, criticised the Congress saying
after 45 years of “misrule”, it could not
survive even 15 months in opposition. He said the
Congress was not prepared to talk about national security
and other important issues, but was talking about
irrelevant things.
Mr Vajpayee,who will
stay at the Punjab Raj Bhavan for the night, will address
a Press conference in the morning before leaving for
Karnal.
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