Tags:
Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, Aug 13: Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh today said between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata party, the former was the lesser of two evils and he had little compunction in admitting that the Congress’s secular policies and ideology were in tune with that of the SP.
Addressing the media here this afternoon, Singh said his party had only one problem with the Congress: Implementation of secular policies. "We had some problems with the Congress of the past but the Congress under Sonia Gandhi has got an opportunity to correct past wrongs. We hope they will seize the chance to topple the BJP as a show of good faith that they are not the one with the communal forces." Singh said his party was offering unconditional support to the Congress in this matter.
Singh said his party was consistent about its ties with the Congress because Congress is the only hope of the secular forces in their fight against the communal ones. They would go along with Congress’ niti (policies) even iftheir neeyat (behaviour) was not quite correct, he said.
"We are committed to keeping our ties with the Congress going. When Pawar wanted a tie-up for the Lok Sabha polls, we agreed, when he didn’t for the Assembly by-polls, we stood aside. We voted the way he asked during the Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Council polls. So we are not the ones shying away from an alliance."
Asked if a tie-up with the Congress would not cut into the SP’s base in UP, he said, "The Congress has a two per cent vote bank in UP. They are no threat to us there. But they are the only ones who can keep the BJP at bay and we have no problems with strengthening their hands at this juncture," he said.
Singh, who called for action against those indicted by the Srikrishna Commission’s report for their involvement in the 1992-93 riots, said, the fact that his party was seeking ties with the Congress at this juncture did not blind him to the fact that former chief minister Sudhakarrao Naik had also been pulled up by theCommission for his vacillation during the riots.
"However, I have nothing against him as an individual, it is only in his role as Chief Minister that he was answerable. Unlike some parties, we do not believe in accepting the verdict in parts to suit our requirements. We accept it in totality."
Meanwhile, Tushar Gandhi of the SP, today filed a public interest litigation in the Bombay HC seeking to press the government into action on Srikrishna report. Gandhi, vice-president of SP’s city unit, today urged the HC to direct the Maharashtra Government and State DGP to register criminal cases against those held responsible by Srikrishna Commission of Inquiry for causing 1992-93 riots in the metropolis.
The petition, filed through advocate Majeed Memon, would come up for hearing next week.
