Indomitable Seshan on the roll at Gandhinagar

AHMEDABAD, AUG 18: The best party, the best constituency and the best candidate': that is how the irrepressible Thirunellai Narayana Ses...

AHMEDABAD, AUG 18: The best party, the best constituency and the best candidate8217;: that is how the irrepressible Thirunellai Narayana Seshan described the Congress, Gandhinagar and himself, while addressing a crowded press conference here on Tuesday.

Seshan was a transformed man after switching over to the other side of the table. Putting Gandhinagar on par with Allahabad, Lucknow and Amethi in terms of political importance, he said that instead of petty local issues, the election in such constituencies must be fought over national issues of vital importance like stability. Let us ask the people whether they want a stable government or not.

The former CEC said he was neither rich nor poor but would go all out to campaign for his election and act in a fashion befitting a disciplined soldier. He said his tour of other parts of Gujarat would depend on orders from GPCC president C D Patel. Intelligent voters would decide whether the Congress had made him a scapegoat by fielding him against L K Advani, he said.

He said he never was against the Narmada project as was made out by his opponents but what he did was to ensure that rehabilitation of the project affected persons ranked pari passu with the project. Justifying his candidature from Gujarat, he said he had a 30-yrs-old association with the State and once used to speak Gujarati. Promising that he would spend half his time in the constituency after the election, he said he would learn it again in six months.

Seshan said he did not aspire for any position of power after election at the cost of his self respect. He skipped posers as to whether he approached the Congress for the ticket or vice versa.

Seshan said it was wrong of any political party to take credit for the Kargil victory since it belonged to the Armed forces. Not giving scribes a chance to ask questions, he said that had he been the Chief Election Commissioner at present, he would have cancelled the whole election on the issue of government policy on telecom tariffs. Instead of allowing concessions to private telecom companies, the government could have asked them to hold back till another three months, he said. The entire briefing was laced by humorous one-liners by Seshan. An example: They asked me whether I wanted to become a governor, I told them to make my wife a governess and I would automatically become a governor.8217;