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V P Singh defends Sonia

Former prime minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh said it was not proper to drag Sonia Gandhi or her family into the contentious Bofors issue.

He defended Sonia's decision to campaign for the Congress saying that she was an Indian citizen. She had every right to contest an election if she wanted to, he said.

Regarding the Congress demand that she lead the country, Singh said it was not the party or its allies which would decide that, but the general public.

Singh declined to comment on the Bofors, fodder scams or any corruption cases that have become campaign issues in the Lok Sabha election.

''I am not taking sides or prejudging. I have not spoken in the St Kitts forgery case, Harshad Mehta or bank scams. All I can say is whether it is the Bofors or fodder, it should be investigated and the findings announced soon. The guilty should be punished and the innocents cleared,'' Singh said.

The former prime minister appealed to all secular parties to join hands to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party. He said he had mooted the idea of the United Front joining with the Congress to fight the election. The UF leaders, however, had not agreed.

Asked whether he would try to bring the UF and Congress together after the election, Singh hedged. ''Let us move one step at a time. At the moment let us consider the election," he said, "Other matters can be considered afterwards.''

Singh refused to predict who would be the next prime minister. ''The Election Commission has banned all such speculation.''

The former PM spoke on issues such as Rajiv Gandhi's assassination and security, his five year political exile, alliances in the coming election and the role of inquiry commissions.

He said it was not right to term the experiment of coalition governments in India a failure.

''Coalitions have become an accepted practice in states such as Kerala and West Bengal. But at the national level we have yet to learn and understand it,'' he said.

Comparing it to cycling, he continued, ''Falling off does not mean that we should not try again.''

Singh said it was not lack of able and experienced leaders, but the Congress's brinkmanship that had toppled the UF governments.

He said the Jain Commission report was just an excuse for the Congress. ''Toppling the government on the basis of such a report shows their intelligence. They are unable to even make an issue of it in the election and are regretting their action,'' he claimed.

''Agreeing to the Congress's demand for the removal of three Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ministers would have meant condemning the Tamils as traitors and murderers. It was a question of saving either the nation or the government,'' Singh said.

Asked if he questioned the validity of the Jain Commission report, he asked, ''Has the country accepted it?''

Commissions, he continued, are weapons of political manipulations. ''All commissions indict the opponents of the people who have set it up. The Kudal Commission appointed by the Congress pointed fingers at Jayaprakash Narayan. The Shah Commission did the same against Indira Gandhi, the Thakkar Commission blamed R K Dhawan who had then lost favour with Rajiv Gandhi,'' he elaborated.

Singh held the Congress responsible for Rajiv Gandhi's assassination.

''It was a Congress lady worker and not V P Singh who took Dhanu (the assassin) close to Rajiv. She couldn't have reached there without Congress connections,'' he said.

UNI

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