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Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 13, 2004

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National

NCP to retain identity

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUNE 12. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today put to rest speculations of a merger with the Congress and asserted that it would not only retain its identity but also work towards making inroads in States where it does not have a presence.

In a resolution taken at the end of an extended meeting of its working committee, the NCP noted that it had established itself in the country in the last five years and its relevance had been proved beyond doubt.

Of the view that the NCP had played a decisive role in ``saving the country from the clutches of communal forces,'' the committee was critical of those secular forces — who despite championing the cause of secularism and issuing strong statements against the Bharatiya Janata Party — played a ``spoiler's role'' in the 14th Lok Sabha elections against the secular alliance in some States.

Later, talking to the media, the NCP spokesperson and Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel, said that there was a need for the secular forces to remain together to keep the BJP at bay. As to whether the NCP was open to an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, he was non-committal. While the NCP was not prepared to reveal its cards vis-a-vis the BSP, it was categorical in stating that it would fight the Assembly elections in alliance with the Congress and the Republican Party of India.

In its political resolution the NCP said: ``The emergence of strong regional parties with greater presence in some States have made coalition politics inevitable in India. It is evident that the hope of one party rule in India will remain a distant dream for many more years to come. This warrants a better coordination and understanding among coalition partners to fulfil the aspirations of the people who voted the BJP out of power.''

Addressing the working committee and the foundation day celebrations of the party later in the day, the NCP president, Sharad Pawar, said the policies of the National Democratic Alliance were not only against the age-old secular traditions and socialist approach, but meant to ``appease the few rich and vested foreign economic interests.''

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