POLITICS

'Only the Congress(I) can provide stability'

For the past three months, P. Shiv Shankar, Deputy Leader of the Congress(I) in the dissolved Lok Sabha, aggressively pushed the line that the party should adopt a proactive position against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition Government. He told Frontline in March that the Congress(I) was getting set to "oppose, chastise and ultimately depose the government". Less than a month later the Congress(I) closed in for the kill, but its plans went awry. Shiv Shankar spoke to Venkitesh Ramakrishnan about the political developments and the party's plans. Excerpts:

The Congress(I) fulfilled its political objective in part when the Vajpayee Government was dislodged. However, the failure to instal an alternative government seems to have created an unfavourable situation for the party, especially in terms of popular appeal. The BJP is trying to create the impression that the Congress(I) lacks the ability to shape concrete alternatives.

P.V. SIVAKUMAR

It is not correct to say that the party is facing an unfavourable situation in terms of popular appeal. The BJP is of course trying to spread the canard that the Congress(I) destabilised its coalition government. But the fact is that the government collapsed under the weight of its own differences. The problems between (Prime Minister Atal Behari) Vajpayee and the AIADMK were not created by us. And what is the BJP's complaint? That we did not support the government when one of its allies withdrew support? As an Opposition party, it was not our business to save the government.

As for the failure to form an alternative government, the question should be posed to other Opposition parties, such as the Samajwadi Party, the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Forward Bloc. For one year, these parties clamoured that the Congress(I) was not aggressive enough. Some of them even said that we were helping the BJP government survive. And when the Congress(I) played the natural role of a party of the Opposition, brought the government down and sought their support to form the alternative, they backed out. The people understand all this. And that is why I say that your premise that the party has lost popular appeal is not correct.

These parties were essentially opposed to forming a minority Congress(I) government. They proposed another secular alternative in the form of a coalition government...

We never opposed the idea of forming a coalition alternative. But the fact was that it was impractical. The non- Congress(I) Opposition parties would have failed to agree on who should be part of such a coalition. That is why we put forward the idea of a minority government. Most of the secular Opposition parties agreed to the proposal.

But the Congress(I) shot down the proposal to make Jyoti Basu Prime Minister.

The proposal came in the form of a demand to allow the formation of yet another Third Front government under the leadership of Basu. We had supported two Third Front governments in the past and they had failed miserably. The Congress(I) is of the view that it cannot allow these experiments to go on in the name of secularism.

On the question of facing elections too, there seems to be some confusion in the Congress(I). Indications are that the party is not sure whether to put forward the traditional slogan of "single party rule" for stability or push the idea of a coalition.

There is no confusion on this. The Congress(I) is very clear that only it has the experience of running governments properly. The tragic experience of the United Front governments and the BJP coalition has proved that only the Congress(I) can provide stability to the country. And you will see the party making huge gains in the coming elections.

But Sharad Pawar has said that the election results would not be very different from what it was last time...

I think that is Pawar's personal opinion. I am sure that we will gain in a major way. Soniaji's tenure as party president has imparted a new vigour to the organisation. The party is integrated and its functioning is much more cohesive now. We are going to sweep the South Indian States and score significant gains in other areas. I can see this result in a hundred small things. Wherever I go people talk about how the Congress(I) is rejuvenated and how it has once again gifted a leader on whom the nation can rely.

Still, the Congress(I) is thinking in terms of alliances in Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh...

The Congress(I) has always had seat adjustments with regional parties. In Kerala, we have a full-fledged coalition that has functioned cohesively for several decades. All this does not detract the strength of our slogan that only the Congress(I) can provide good governance. The simple fact is that we are better even in running coalitions. Unlike the BJP, we do not forge an opportunistic coalition just to grab power and see it fall apart in a year.

Is this not a dilution of the declarations made at the Pachmarhi conclave?

As I said earlier, the Pachmarhi declaration is an ideal guideline. But in practical politics one has to mix idealism with pragmatism, keeping the good of the country in mind.