NEWS
VIEWS
INTERVIEWS
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
ISSUES '98
MANIFESTOS
OVERHEARD
POLLING BOOTH
INDIA SPEAKS!
YEH HAI INDIA
CHAT

Talks must settle Babri row: Vajpayee

Atal Bihari Vajpayee prefers a 'negotiated settlement' over the Babri Masjid issue.

''Only if this does not come through should a legislation be considered,'' the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial nominee told the media at Lucknow.

Deviating from the BJP hardline, he said, ''The issue could be easily resolved through dialogue. When we could end the 21-year-old stalemate over Azadari religious processions in Lucknow, there is no reason why we cannot work out a solution to the Ayodhya issue.

''The BJP government has achieved in one stroke what successive governments failed to do in all these years,'' he said.

Asked if the BJP, like the Congress, would apologise for the Babri Masjid demolition, he shot back, ''The question does not arise. In any case, if the Congress leaders think that such apologies can cut any ice with voters, they are surely living in a fool's paradise. The Congress is playing this gimmick to win back Muslim votes. But I am sure the Muslims do not see this as anything more than crocodile tears.''

Claiming that Muslims have begun to move towards the BJP, he said they now see through our ''adversaries's anti-BJP propaganda."

He said the Congress apology should not be limited to the Babri issue. ''If the Congress really wants to say sorry, it should offer a collective apology for the manner in which it mismanaged the affairs of the country for 45 years, particularly for the rampant corruption that has eaten into the vitals of our polity.''

The former prime minister also accused the Rajiv Gandhi household of being involved in the Bofors deal.

Asked what action he would take in the Bofors case if he were to eventually become the prime minister, he said, ''I have been demanding that the names of all the beneficiaries be made public. Prime Minister Gujral even told me that he was going to have some of them chargesheeted, but he, too, chickened out. So, once the BJP comes to power at the Centre, we will not only publish the Central Bureau of Investigation's Special Investigation Team report, but also punish all those involved in the Bofors scandal.''

Supporting the United Front government's refusal to sign the Comprehensive (Nuclear) Test Ban Treaty, he said, ''The BJP would keep its options open on the issue.'' He, however, termed the treaty as ''discriminatory in as much as the non-weapon states were being deprived of scientific progress''.

Vajpayee disclosed that his party's manifesto, which is to be released within the next few days, has laid emphasis on ''hitherto neglected areas like development of infrastructure, health, hygiene, construction of roads, besides, of course, ensuring good governance''.

Asked about the BJP's dichotomy of criticising the 13-party United Front combine while itself striving for a similar coalition, Vajpayee retorted, ''There will be a lot of difference between the two. First of all, unlike the UF which was formed after the election, we have made our partners well before the poll. Moreover, in our case, it will be the smaller parties supporting a big party.''

EARLIER REPORTS:
Apologise for Babri masjid? What about Kashmiri Pandits, asks BJP
Vajpayee disappoints hardliners

Tell us what you think of this report