'We won't be found wanting when the opportunity comes'

Published : Aug 29, 1998 00:00 IST

Sharad Pawar is no stranger to political controversies, and in recent times he has been embroiled in more than a fair share of them. Some of his colleagues in the Congress(I), and mediapersons, believe that a few of his comments, made in interviews to private television channels recently, reflected a stand that went against the party's official line. Some of the opinions he expressed, including the one that the prime ministerial candidate of a possible Congress(I)-led coalition would have to be acceptable to all its allies, were perceived as a challenge to the authority of Congress(I) president Sonia Gandhi. There was also the perception both inside and outside the party that Sonia Gandhi and Pawar had different attitudes towards the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition Government headed by Atal Behari Vajpayee, especially with regard to taking pro-active steps to precipitate its collapse. It was believed that Pawar wanted to bring the Government down at the earliest, whereas Sonia Gandhi wanted to go slow on it. In an interview to Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, Pawar gave his views on the perceived tussles in the Congress(I) and the troubles faced by the BJP-led Government. Excerpts.

How do you see the national political situation, and how far is the Congress(I) prepared to utilise the divisions in the BJP-led coalition and bid for power at the Centre?

The situation, as we see it, is very uncertain. But there is no doubt that the country is facing an extremely difficult situation. The economy is in a bad shape and we are going through a recession. Industries are closing in many areas, workers are losing their jobs, essential commodities are out of the reach of the common people and there is an appalling deterioration of law and order in a number of States. Exports are falling and the value of the rupee is going down day by day. And there is a feeling that India is getting isolated in the international community. The tragedy is that the Government does not seem to be worried about all this and is not addressing the issues in a responsible manner. As the main Opposition party, it is our duty to alert the people and the Government about this situation. Right now we are doing this and also strengthening our organisation. We will be able to provide a viable and effective alternative only when we have an effective organisational machinery.

Sonia Gandhi recently told Congress(I) MPs that the party might be asked to assume responsibilities at any moment. What time-frame do you have in mind to come up with an alternative?

Normally, when a government comes to power it has five years. But the way the Vajpayee Government has functioned in the last five months, I do not think we will have that kind of time. I can only say that each and every day is important. The Pachmarhi session of the Congress(I) will, in all probability, come up with a guideline for us to pursue our objectives more aggressively.

There are reports that leaders of some of the BJP's allies - such as AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha - are in touch with Congress(I) leaders.

I do not have any authentic information about this. I can, however, say that nobody has contacted me personally.

There is an impression that there are two views in the Congress(I) on the formation of an alternative government: that Sonia Gandhi and her loyalists believe that the Congress(I) should wait until after the Assembly elections in a few States in October-November to bring down the Government, while others, including you, want the party to take steps to come to power rightaway.

I do not think that there are two such views. The party president has made it repeatedly clear that we are not desperate to come to power. Our position is that we cannot make too many compromises to come to power. But she has also made it clear that if the Government collapses, the Congress(I) will not shirk its responsibility to save the country from disaster. There are no two opinions about this.

BJP leader Pramod Mahajan has said that if the BJP could not provide a good government with 181 Lok Sabha members, the Congress(I), with 141 MPs, cannot be expected to do it.

I do not want to state as to how we would go about getting majority support in the Lok Sabha. But I would like to remind you that contemporary history has shown that only the Congress(I) can manage the affairs of the country properly. We will not be found wanting when the opportunity comes.

Your remark that the prime ministerial candidate of a possible Congress(I)-led coalition should be acceptable to the allies too is being seen as a challenge to Sonia Gandhi's leadership.

Unfortunately, my friends in the media do not read and find out things properly. What I said was that if you have to take the support of over 140 people outside the party to run a government, the issue has to be discussed with alliance partners. I have also emphasised that the initiative for this will come from the Congress(I) president and that it is she who will decide as to what direction we should take as also the parameters for the discussion. I have also pointed out that ultimately her thinking will be most important in the process of taking a decision. What is wrong with this? I do not understand. I can only say that it is bad journalism to take things out of context and create a controversy.

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