The Hindu : The `feel good party' has just begun

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 19, 2004

National

National

The `feel good party' has just begun

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB. 18. Capitalising on the much talked about "feel good'' factor so much in vogue these days, satirist Jaspal Bhatti "launched'' a party by the very name here today and declared that it would be open to all those feeling good with or without any reason. And, with no ideology to boot, the party would look forward to tying up with like-minded partners in the coming elections, he said.

The seasoned comedian actor-director had his audience in splits as he announced the launch of the "Feel Good Party'' at the Press Club of India here. Accompanied by his "supporters'' who shared the dais with him and kept egging him on by repeatedly interjecting his speech with exclamations like "waah-waah!'', "`taaliyan!", "kamaal hai!'' and shouts of "Feel Good Party zindabad!'', Mr. Bhatti said the new outfit would at the very outset be applying for two symbols - a smiling dog and a smiling cat - just to retain one in the event of a split. On the ticklish "foreign origin'' issue, he said the stand of the party was very clear: it is no issue. "Even foreigners are welcome to join our party; only, they should bring with them some foreign currency."

The party, he said, would have a very open outlook with respect to alliance partners as well. "For us, the Congress and the BJP are just the same. We can have an alliance with the Congress or the BJP individually or with both the parties at the same time as the goal to grab power is common to us all,'' he said. Also, he added, his party could enter into an alliance before or after the elections and could also provide support from both within and outside.

But when it comes to the selection of the Prime Ministerial candidate, Mr Bhatti said while the person would be decided by the alliance partners after the elections to avoid any intra-party rift, "the hidden understanding will be there'' to keep the post reserved for his family only. And the family here would mean only his children and yet-to-be-born grandchildren. And, no first cousins, thank you. Stating that the slogan of the party would be "Har garib ka yehi hai nara, Sensex ooncha rahen hamara (Every poor person's slogan: the Sensex should remain high), the comedian from Chandigarh said that if voted to power the party would also propagate the "feel good message" by producing innumerable commercials for television and newspapers with public money and the Union Finance Ministry would issue certificates proclaiming "You are feeling good'' to all poor people.

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