The Hindu : National : `No party has surrendered to us'

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Thursday, Jun 03, 2004

National

National

`No party has surrendered to us'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUNE 2. The Congress today sought to downplay the Samajwadi Party's criticism for not being asked to provide inputs for the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) and dismissed remarks that the constituents of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) had ``surrendered.''

Responding to a remark by the Samajwadi Party that it had offered samarthan na ki samarpan (support and not surrender) before the Congress, its spokesperson, Satyavrat Chaturvedi, said that no party has ``surrendered.''

Much before the elections, the Congress had appealed to all parties that believe in secularism to join hands to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. ``There is no question of taking any party or any individual for granted,'' he said.

As regards the inputs for the CMP, he said, it was for the SP to offer any suggestion and that most of the issues that it [the SP] has raised finds a mention in the agreed document for governance.

Mr. Chaturvedi also disagreed with the BJP that the Congress-led UPA did not have the mandate to govern the country. The elections were held on two specific aspects — one was the formation of parties that were with the BJP and another was that of progressive and secular parties.

Asked for the party's stand with regard to favourable comments made by the Sangh affiliate, Swadeshi Jagran Manch, on the CMP, he said if the praise came without any conditions it was welcome, otherwise the party would have to weigh the remarks.

To another question as to what the party made of the remark of the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, that he did not wish to sit in the Opposition for five years, he quipped: ``It is his choice whether he wants to remain in the House or not.''

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