Coalitions Are Here To Stay, Says Gujral

Prime Minister I K Gujral yesterday said that coalitions would be the norm in Indian politics for some time to come. His statement is diametrically opposite to Congress president Sitaram Kesris recent assertion that coalition politics was untenable and that only a single party government could be stable.

Addressing the national executive of the Janata Dal, Gujral said the new phase of Janata Dal-led coalitions in Indian politics arrived after 1989 and the need of the hour was to strengthen it. Gujral has hitherto been careful to stay on the right side of the Congress president.

Gujral said that to ensure the successful functioning of a coalition meant homogenisation of relations among partners, emphasis on highest common factor and the accommodation of each others viewpoints.

Judging by these criteria, the present coalition was working well, he said. This was evident in the functioning of the Union cabinet which Gujral claimed as being democratic.

Commenting on the Prime Ministers speech, Janata Dal ideologue Surendra Mohan said that, although Gujral did not refer to Kesri, his views were totally at variance with Kesris views.

I am of the opinion that coalition politics is going to stay for a long time to come. And Kesris statement on this is mere day-dreaming. The Congress is not going to come to power in the near future, Mohan said.

This was the first time that Gujral was addressing the party leaders after the incident at the Janata Dals national convention in the first week of August, when he had walked out of the meeting.

Gujral utilised this opportunity to laud the role played by the Janata Dal in the era of coalition politics. He said throughout these years, it was the Janata Dal which had shaped the policies of the coalition and provided leadership.

The meeting adopted what members called a 14-point revolutionary action programme to strengthen the party. Party secretary general Bapu Kaldate told newsmen that the programme included greater emphasis on employment generation, drinking water, education and the public distribution system.

The party has also decided to set up vigilance committees at district and state levels to monitor the functioning of various developmental projects. The committees main task would be to see that government money is properly utilised, Kaldate said. The national executive authorised party president Sharad Yadav to constitute the central parliamentary board, the election disptues committee and political affairs committee.