The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Mandate of the people has been honoured, says Venkaiah Naidu

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 10, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Mandate of the people has been honoured, says Venkaiah Naidu

Staff Reporter

Thanks Congress for `ill-treating' former coalition partner Thanks Congress for `ill-treating' former coalition partner, the Janata Dal (S)

SHOW OF SOLIDARITY: BJP leaders B.S. Yediyurappa, Jagadish Shettar, M. Venkaiah Naidu, H.N. Ananth Kumar and K.S. Eshwarappa in a happy mood at a meeting of the BJP Legislature Party in Bangalore on Thursday. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

BANGALORE: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is thankful to the Congress for "ill-treating" its former coalition partner, the Janata Dal (Secular), for over 19 months, which has now enabled the formation of the new coalition, the former BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu said here on Thursday.

The mandate of the people is being honoured belatedly with the new coalition coming to power, Mr. Naidu told presspersons here after a meeting of the BJP Legislature Party.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy was keen on going with the BJP in 2004, but the Congress played up the bogey of secularism and persuaded Janata Dal (S) national President H.D. Deve Gowda to go into partnership with it. "The 2004 mandate was truly honoured yesterday," he said on Mr. Kumaraswamy winning the confidence motion in the Legislative Assembly.

`All parties are secular'

"Secularism is an overused excuse of the power-hungry Congress, which cannot bear to see itself in the Opposition. No party can claim a patent on secularism. All parties are secular because India is secular," Mr. Naidu declared.

In these times of realignment of political forces and the inevitability of coalitions, the BJP is not coy about its ideological convictions. However, it is our policy to never force our Hindutva-oriented ideology on anyone, he said.

Asked about how the BJP will treat the sensitive Bababudangiri issue, Mr. Naidu said it is just one of the many issues that need solutions, and as a responsible party in Government now, we will act in the best interests of the people. "We do have people's welfare and governance as our priority."

During the debate on the confidence motion on Wednesday, the Congress did not behave with dignity and step down gracefully. Its penchant for sticking to power like a limpet was on display during the entire 14-hour debate, Mr. Naidu charged.

The Congress had no valid point to make and harped incessantly on "secularism." As for the "myth" that the minorities and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes will be ignored by the BJP, Mr. Naidu ridiculed the Congress' self-proclaimed role as their messiah.

We have the highest number of MPs belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Tribes. Even in the 1970s, it was the Jan Sangh that first appointed tribal people as Union ministers. Even the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cabinet had a large number of ministers from the Scheduled Castes and Tribes and minority communities.

"Why else does the lotus continue to bloom in areas dominated by tribals — Jharkhand, Rajasthan for instance," he asked.

The BJP is keen to ensure that the new alliance with Janata Dal (S) grows into a more permanent relationship, Mr. Naidu said. As of now, the party plans to contest the upcoming elections in Tamil Nadu on its own, but is open to the possibility of tie-ups depending on the circumstances at the time.

But an enduring alliance with the Janata Dal (S) will help the BJP, which has its own clutch of "friendly parties like the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, the Biju Janata Dal in Orissa and the Janata Dal (U) in Bihar," the BJP leader said

Now that that the trust vote is behind them, the BJP-Janata Dal (S) will soon begin the exercise of ministry making. However, his own role has ended for now, after seeing the BJP safely in the saddle, he said. The State leadership will select the ministers, and merit, experience and contribution to the party in terms of cadre building will be the criteria. There is no decision yet on whether the Janata Dal (U), which voted in support of the coalition, will be accommodated, Mr. Naidu added.

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