NEW DELHI, JAN 30: The United Front today ruled out the possibility of entering into a coalition with the Congress to form the Government in the event of a hung Parliament after the elections.CPM general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet's assertion at the press conference where the UF manifesto was released comes at a time when former Prime Minister VP Singh, credited with cobbling together the 13-party coalition a little less than two years ago, has chosen to go soft on the Congress and, more specifically, its star campaigner, Sonia Gandhi.
``In such a situation, we'd rather sit in the Opposition,'' asserted Surjeet in response to a question whether the UF would seek the help of the Congress to form the next government.
``The Front constituents have remained in the Opposition for several years and would not mind doing so again in case of a hung Parliament,'' he added.
The Front also does not have any Prime Ministerial candidate as yet. Responding to queries whether West Bengal Chief Minister JyotiBasu would be its candidate for the country's top post, a visibly irritated UF chairman and former PM HD Deve Gowda remarked: ``We have no dearth of prime ministerial candidates. Jyoti Babu is one of the most competent leaders in the country, but the next PM will be elected by the UF MPs after the elections.''
Asked why the current Gujral will not be asked to continue, Gowda said: ``He is just a caretaker PM. Can he suo-motu take over as the next PM ?''
The manifesto avoided all issues that could become the source of conflict among its constituents, especially those relating to economy.
It seeks an unambiguous mandate of the people for a government with the slogans ``Foodgrain in every home,'' ``Every Indian, healthy and literate'' and ``Every child in school.''
The manifesto was released by Deve Gowda, CPM's Surjeet and AB Bardhan and JD president Sharad Yadav. Gujral, UF convenor N Chandrababu Naidu and other coalition leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav and G.K. Moopanar were absent.
The documentlambasted the Congress for bringing down its governments and blamed it for precipitating a mid-term poll overlooking its own stated objective of keeping the communal forces at bay. Though it did not make its stand clear on its ties with the Congress in the post-poll scenario, its leaders ruled out any truck with that party, saying the UF will opt to sit in the Opposition in the case of a hung Parliament.
Though the promise to provide one-thirds reservation to women in Parliament and State legislatures had led to a rift within the coalition, the manifesto reiterated the same commitment. ``The United Front is committed to bring in a constitutional amendment. It shall strive for uplifting the status of women and relentlessly fight gender discrimination,'' it said.
The differences came to the fore at the press conference also with Sharad, who had vehemently protested against the move when the Gowda government had piloted a Bill on the issue, saying that ``social realities have to be borne in mind.'' Sharadwas among those who had demanded reservation for backward classes within the quota for women.
The UF devoted one page of the 19-page manifesto to its economic policies but steered clear of any commitment on continuing the reforms process, indicating that the Left parties have had their way. Over the last 18 months of UF rule, the CPM and CPI have often clashed with the pro-reform constituents led by the Tamil Maanila Congress.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
