The Hindu : NDA following BJP agenda, says Gowda

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 05, 2003

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NDA following BJP agenda, says Gowda

By Our Staff Correspondent

MANGALORE JULY 4. The former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, today accused the NDA Government at the Centre of toeing the BJP line, forgetting its much-publicised common minimum programme.

Mr. Gowda told presspersons here that the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, had broken his promise of following the NDA agenda and betrayed the people. Criticising the "economic and political culture" of the NDA, Mr. Gowda said the governance was weak and its policies violated the trust people had reposed in the coalition.

Also targeting the Congress for its "soft Hindutva agenda", he said the party was yielding to the Hindutva and anti-secular ideology and would not be surprised if the Congress and the BJP shared a "brotherly relationship".

The JD(S) had mustered enough strength to fight the Congress in the State. He was not bothered about the BJP as that party was on its last legs in the State. The anti-incumbency feeling had been growing among the people, he added.

About his party's prospects at the national level, Mr. Gowda said it was in a position to contest all the 28 Lok Sabha seats from the State and by the end of the year, when he would complete the second phase of meeting party workers and farmers, it would be able to contest all the 228 seats in the Assembly elections. He said the prospects for the JD(S) were looking up in coastal districts.

Against troops to Iraq

Mr. Gowda said that he was opposed to sending troops to Iraq. To a question, he said Iraq had been a long-time friend of India and by sending troops to Iraq, it would be contributing significantly towards legitimising the U.S. invasion of that country. He said he had written to Mr. Vajpayee against any such move.

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