Vajpayee lashes out at Jayalalitha

NAGERCOIL (TN), Aug 21 (PTI) — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today lashed out against friend-turned-foe AIADMK chief Jayalalitha, accusing her of toppling his government for its refusal to sack the Karunanidhi ministry in Tamil Nadu.

Having forged a new alliance with Ms Jayalalitha’s arch rival the DMK, Mr Vajpayee launched the current Lok Sabha election campaign in Tamil Nadu saying that the AIADMK had been the "sole destabilising factor’’during 13 months of the BJP-led coalition rule.

Mr Vajpayee said the AIADMK had toppled his government by "conspiring’’ with the Congress as Ms Jayalalitha’s demand from day one for the dismissal of the DMK government in the state was not accepted by the Centre.

All other Tamil Nadu allies of BJP had cooperated in running the coalition, he said.

The Prime Minister charged the Congress with seeking to garner minorities’ votes by spreading a "canard’’ that the minorities could not be safe if the BJP and its allies were voted back to power.

The Congress had always played this kind of "divisive’’ politics but had not succeeded during the BJP-led rule as communal peace and harmony prevailed in the country, he told a well attended election rally here.

"The Congress refused to play a responsible role. They promised constructive cooperation in the beginning, but when they realised that the government was becoming popular they conspired to bring it down," Mr Vajpayee charged.

He patted the DMK and other allies for having stood behind the government. "when the AIADMK withdrew support we got help from a special quarter — the DMK," he said expressing hope that the National Democratic Alliance would remain durable.

He said the NDA’s goal was to provide a stable and transparent government, which would free the country of hunger and illiteracy.

Defending the Pokhran II blasts, he said, "We went for it because the security of the country should come first."

Referring to Kargil, Mr Vajpayee said besides winning the battle on the borders, the country also scored a diplomatic victory with major world powers supporting India’s stand.

On his initiatives for peace with Pakistan, he said, "It was not for fun I went by bus to Lahore. The trip was to improve ties. But Pakistan hijacked the bus and took it to Kargil."

He asserted there was no slackness in the government’s efforts to put down Pakistan’s ISI activities in the country.

Refuting the Congress charge that the BJP was anti-minorities, Mr Vajpayee said the party believed that religion was for unifying the people and making them morally strong.

Allaying fears in the minds of minorities, he said, "We are against mixing politics with religion. India has always been a secular state."

He charged the Congress with having blocked the passage of women’s reservation Bill for giving them 33 per cent seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

"In the beginning the Congress promised support, but later they backed out," he said assuring that the NDA if voted to power would ensure passage of the Bill.

Though the BJP-led coalition remained for only 13 months in power, it could make the country more "self-confident" and stronger, he added.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Mr Vajpayee on Saturday hit out at the Congress, saying that it had been the main source of destabilisation and misgovernance in the country and advocated a mechanism to ensure a fixed term of five years to parties in the Lok Sabha.

Dwelling on the circumstances that had thrust mid-term polls on the people, Mr Vajpayee told reporters here "the same forces that destabilised two United Front governments within a short span of 16 months, had once again plotted to create instability at the Centre."

Frequent elections and recurrent instability always extracted a heavy price. National security and well-directed socio-economic development were the casualties, he said.

"We had three Lok Sabha elections in three years. That situation has to be avoided," he said, endorsing a query on ensuring a fixed term to the Lok Sabha.

It was well known that the Congress had been the main source of destabilisation and also misgovernance. It was precisely for this reason that voters were rejecting it after each election, he added.

The Congress party’s pre-eminent position in Indian politics was rapidly shrinking and the BJP had emerged as a stable alternative, capable of pulling the country out of the quagmire of corruption, maldevelopment and instability, he added.

On the achievements of the BJP-led government, the Prime Minister said, "In the short time that our government has been in office at the Centre, we proved our capacity and determination to strengthen national security, maintain communal peace and harmony and give a thrust to India’s all-round socio-economic development.

The Prime Minister claimed that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) reflected the national and regional aspirations of the people and that the BJP was growing from strength to strength, thanks to their support.

To a question on why the caretaker government was taking important policy decisions, Mr Vajpayee said the country must go on and the government had to function. Previously, caretaker governments were there for at the most, two to two-and-a-half months. Since this government had been in the "caretaker saddle" for such a long period, important decisions could not been kept pending.

Mr Vajpayee declined to comment when asked for his remarks on Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s nationality. When it was pointed out to him that although Ms Gandhi’s mother was Italian, she was the mother of two Indians, Mr Vajpayee jovially said "how can I deny that?".

On the Kargil victory, the Prime Minister said, "I don’t claim it is my victory. It is the victory of India."

Asked if he denied using the Kargil issue as a poll plank, Mr Vajpayee said there was no denying or accepting it. Any party was free to use it because it was the country’s victory.

Mr Vajpayee said though Kargil had been cleared of armed intruders, militant and terrorist activities were on in some parts of Jammu and Kashmir which would also be "resolutely met and crushed."

He said militants were getting isolated day by day as people wanted peace.