COVER STORY

'The Government has failed in every aspect'

Somnath Chatterjee, eminent parliamentarian and veteran leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), feels that the BJP-led Government has failed on several fronts. It is concerned more about placating its allies than about addressing the problems facing the country, he says in an interview to Suhrid Sankar Chattopadhyay in Calcutta. Excerpts:

How would you rate the BJP-led Government's performance?

The BJP has entered into unprincipled alliances with parties whose programmes or policies have nothing common with its own programmes and policies. There is no unity in the alliance, and the allies are frequently making unreasonable demands or threatening the Government. It is clear that the main ruling party is concerned more about keeping its allies happy than about the welfare of the country. The BJP's allies are concerned only about packages for their respective States, and nobody in the Government is bothered about a package for India as a whole. In the past year the BJP has created a situation that is inimical to the unity and integrity of the country. Look at its policy on minorities. Never before has the country seen such atrocities being committed on the Christian minorities. The brutal and senseless murder of the Australian missionary, Graham Stewart Staines, and his two sons has affected the country's image in the eyes of the world. Targeting Christians on the plea that they are converting Hindus is a deliberate and calculated attack to bring about divisions among the people on the grounds of religion. The Prime Minister called for a national debate on the issue, which further complicated matters.

It is shameful that the BJP is adopting the economic policies evolved by the Congress(I) Government, which it had opposed at that time. The Government is acting against every promise it made. See the way the Pokhran blasts were carried out; it was nothing more than browbeating Pakistan. The Government should be condemned for creating the kind of religious fanaticism that took shape after Pokhran. It is also responsible for introducing communalism in the Army. It even attempted to communalise the educational system. Now the Government is on its hands and knees, making open announcements of its willingness to sign the CTBT (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty) - which again amounts to compromising the national interest. There is no united national policy. The Opposition was not consulted on any major decision that the BJP-led Government took. Charges of corruption in the Government are coming out daily, while the country is rapidly moving towards a helpless situation. Look at the price situation. The growth rate is 3 per cent, agricultural growth is negative, prices are sky-high. Even Doordarshan is being misutilised. In fact, Prasar Bharati should be called Pramod Bharati. For the past one year we have had at the Centre a Government that has been governed by greed for power and has failed in every aspect.

What are your views on Yashwant Sinha's latest Budget?

Who has supported this Budget? Not the common people, anyway. Today only a few big projects are coming into India. Industry is not picking up, the small-scale sector is in jeopardy, and infrastructure development is zero.

It appears that the Opposition has held a serious challenge to the Government in this Budget session. Is this an indication that the Government is under threat?

I hope so. All their policies have gone against the interests of the nation. The Opposition must try to pull down this Government.

The Opposition to the Patents Bill and the Insurance Regulatory Authority Bill appears to be coming from the swadeshi wing of the BJP.

The BJP had vehemently opposed the Congress(I) Government's proposals on these bills. Now these are on top of the BJP's agenda. The Patents Bill is a total sell-out, a surrender to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Now that the Government is facing serious problems because of sanctions, it is trying hard to please the United States. As for the Insurance Bill the BJP had opposed it tooth and nail. It has gone back on every position that it had taken.

Do you favour the Opposition's demand for an inquiry by a Joint Parliamentary Committee into the dismissal of Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat and into the allegations of financial irregularities in the Government, made by Mohan Guruswamy?

Vajpayee should agree to a JPC inquiry into both the issues. The Centre says that we are trying to politicise the Guruswamy issue. But Guruswamy was one of their most trusted men. The allegations of financial irregularities were made by him, not by us.

Does the move against the Bihar Government have the potential to put the BJP-led Government under strain? The Samata Party in the Bihar Legislature has split. Could this affect the party at the Centre?

Yes, it could. What they did in Bihar was political and constitutional chicanery. Any sensible government would first try and convince the Opposition and elicit its support. They took the advice of an RSS Governor, declared President's Rule and then tried to gather support. We have always opposed the use of Article 356.

Is the Congress(I) ready to bid for power? If its stakes a claim, will the Left extend support?

I think the Congress(I) realises the danger if the present Government continues in power. Under the BJP-led alliance, the country is divided communally and impoverished economically, and it does not have a friend in the world. Today the composition of the Lok Sabha is such that only the Congress(I) can stake a claim to form a government. If it takes the initiative we are willing to extend issue-based support. On matters that we disagree, let them take a second look. But this great danger to the country in the form of the BJP Government must go.