The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Chances of formation of third alternative remote: BJP

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Chances of formation of third alternative remote: BJP

Special Correspondent

Party has patience to wait and fight: Venkaiah Naidu

CHENNAI: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday made it clear that chances of formation of a third alternative were remote in the prevailing political atmosphere in the country.

Replying to questions on the idea mooted by some leaders, including general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Jayalalithaa, about the need for a third front as an alternative to the Congress and the BJP, Mr. Naidu said though it had been the dream of many, it was not possible or feasible in the present situation. The National Front and the United Front experiments in the past were also unsuccessful.

Of late, talks of forming a third front had become louder, he said, adding that the moment such an eventuality occurred, the United Progressive Government would collapse, much to the delight of the BJP. But the BJP was not working in that direction, as the party had patience to wait and fight, he said.

Moot point

At the same time, it was a moot point as to how long the alliance parties, including the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Pattali Makkal Katchi, would tolerate the "anti-poor and anti-farmer policies" of the Centre, Mr. Naidu said.

He denied reports that the BJP was raking up the Ayodhya issue with an eye on the elections in Uttar Pradesh.

He said Ms. Jayalalithaa's demand for bringing forward a constitutional amendment to ensure that treaties with foreign countries on issues of strategic importance should come into effect only after ratification by Parliament was "good and worth considering."

The BJP had also demanded that a resolution be passed by Parliament on the Indo-United States nuclear deal, as the party felt that signing agreements endangering the future well-being of the country was not good for democracy, Mr. Naidu said.

After visiting the tsunami-hit Foreshore Estate in Chennai along with State BJP president L.Ganesan and distributing assistance to some of the fishermen families, he called for creation of a separate Ministry at the Centre for Fisheries, as the country had a long coastline and millions of people depended on this sector. He also called for implementation of a comprehensive insurance scheme for the fishermen. Mr. Naidu urged the DMK Government to intensify the rehabilitation works in the affected areas.

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