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Sunday, May 11, 2008
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Sign the deal only after Left parties agree to it: NCP

Special Correspondent

Decisions must be taken by consensus among partners

NEW DELHI: Unhappy with the “big brother” attitude of the Congress towards junior allies in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday said the India-U.S. nuclear deal should be signed only after the Left parties agree to it.

Though the NCP is in favour of the deal, the draft political resolution – discussed at its extended working committee meeting here – clearly spells out the party’s opposition to any confrontation with the Left parties over it. “Coalition dharma demands that decisions should be taken by consensus among the coalition partners, not by majority opinion of partners.”

Time and again in the draft resolution, the NCP has faulted the Congress for taking unilateral decisions. According to the NCP, the Congress is yet to accept the political reality that the days of single-party rule are over in India. Briefing journalists, along the sidelines of the meeting, NCP general secretary D. P. Tripathi said his party would like the Congress to step up efforts to strengthen the UPA ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections.

As to who should lead the UPA in the next elections, Mr. Tripathi said the Congress – by virtue of being the single largest party in the coalition -- would obviously have its say. But, in the spirit of coalition politics, it should factor in the views of other constituents in the UPA also. However, this was not discussed at the meeting and there is no mention of it in the draft resolution.

Mr. Tripathi also drew attention to the role played by the NCP in strengthening the coalition; not just at the national level but in States also. “We have not fielded a single candidate in Karnataka – though we could have contested at least 30 seats along the Maharashtra border -- to ensure that there is no split in the secular vote. Similarly, in Gujarat we fielded only a few candidates.”

But, the Congress, he pointed out, has not been equally cooperative in Meghalaya.

“We are anguished that despite our efforts before and after the elections in Meghalaya, there was no cooperation from the Congress.”

For its part, the NCP has also given up its formation-time goal of trying to provide a viable alternative to the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Mr. Tripathi dismissed questions on the “third front” as a “third rate front.” In the draft resolution, the party has taken the line that the experience of the last three years is that “such an alternative is not viable at the ground level today.”

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