Text of Naidu’s letter

I learnt with immense pain that the United Front has decided to support the candidature of a Congress nominee for the post of Speaker of Lok Sabha. This news is all the more painful to me since I have learnt it through the media, and not through United Front though I am the Convenor.

United Front came into existence at a very crucial time in the history of Indian politics, and it was carefully built by all of us with the fond hope of providing a system of alternative governance to the decades of misrule and maladministration of Congress. Despite various differences, ideologies and objectives of the constituent parties, we stood together on a number of major issues and I have tried my best to bring about consensus and principled political stand whenever there were differences, problems and crises. Ourstrategies and principled politics received wide acclaim in the country. But recent functioning of United Front and particularly the latest decision of Core Committee to support Congress has come as a rude shock to me.

I have repeatedly discussed our philosophy of anti-Congressism in many United Front meetings and I have also pleaded more than once why we cannot support Congress. It is strange that the Congress’s treacherous record of continuous destabilisation of United Front and pulling down of two successive United Front governments has been so easily forgotten. Some of the unilateral and hasty statements of some of the United Front leaders, regarding extending support to Congress before and during election period, have caused concern not only to me but also a number of other colleagues in the United Front. I feel terribly sad that the great experiment of United Front is failing and the edifice of United Front built by our joint efforts is crumbling in front of our very eyes.

There is no way of mysupporting a Congress nominee for the post of the Speaker of Lok Sabha, as such a course of action would be detrimental to the interests of Telugu Desam Party and my state.

I have also made it clear that we should maintain a stance of equi-distance from Congress and BJP and be neutral in the current political equations.The United Front Core Committee does not seem to appreciate this advice. The manner in which the decision to support Congress seems to have been taken is also objectionable, and cuts at the very root of our consensus approach on major issues through discussions, deliberations and negotiations. I felt very pained that the United Front chose to take this unprincipled unilateral decision behind my back and deliberately ignored my feelings and pleas. I consider this an act of insult and humiliation to my state, my party and me. In such a painful situation, I have no choice but to disassociate myself from the United Front.

Thanking you.

With regards, N Chandrababu Naidu.