New Delhi, Mar 12: Former prime minister VP Singh today visualised another election within two years and stressed the need for consensual politics so that political instability did not lead to "instability of policies".Addressing a news conference here, Singh said the recent elections were only a "semi-final and the final is not far away".
However, exuding optimism, he said "by the next elections, stable political alignments will emerge" and a stable government would be possible.
Doubting the longevity of a Bhartiya Janata Party or a Congress-led government, he said whatever might be the problems of any coalition "what is necessary for the country is to go ahead with the governance of the country and only a consensual politics in such a situation can give some hope".
Because of the "dynamics of change", there would be conflicts but they should not go beyond a limit, he said.
Citing the example of our foreign policy where there has been a continuity since Nehru's time because of a national consensus, Singh said a similar consensus was needed in defence and economic policies as they were integrally related.
In defence matters there could be consensus on the nuclear issue and the formation of a national security council for necessary continuity in policy.
In the economic sphere there was already a "tacit consensus" on according top priority to infrastructure and cutting down expenditure, he said.
Similar consensus could be evolved on a stable investment and taxation environment and excise duties and direct taxes could be fixed for two to three years so that political instability did not affect them.
Paying capacity of industries and individuals did not change every year, he said.
Talking about the difficulties the BJP was facing in procuring the letters of support from its allies, Singh said the way its allies were trying to extract political mileage for extending support even before formation of the government, "puts a question mark on the longevity of the formation itself".
Recalling that though the BJP was critical of the United Front coalition, the front did not have any problem in getting the support letters from its constituents.
But, the "BJP allies are demanding their pound of flesh even before signing the support letter", he said.
Asked about the government formation, Singh said all the three main political formations, led by BJP, Congress and the UF, were addressing the problem in their own way.
To a query if a national government was the answer to unstable coalitions, Singh said "it was not feasible". About consensual politics, he said he would expect the new government to bring about a consensus on reservation for women in legislatures, lok pal and anti-defection laws within three months.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
