NDA stamps Advani's name as PM candidate

NEW DELHI: Putting its seal of approval on the BJP’s decision to anoint Mr L K Advani as its prime ministerial candidate, the NDA on Tuesday agreed to contest the next general election with a common strategy and a common programme, to be re-christened the `National Agenda For Governance’. While the issues to be included in the NAG will be finalised at a later stage by a core group after extensive deliberations, the broad parameters guiding it were underlined here on Tuesday by Mr Advani. These included good, honest and transparent governance, development and internal security. “Today, as the leaders and chief ministers of the NDA meet, we pledge ourselves to the ideals of good governance, development and security,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha pointed out in his concluding remarks, as he sounded the bugle for the imminent battle against “the failed, non-performing, corrupt and internally-divided government of the Congress-led UPA.” The meeting, which was attended by representatives from all constituents, barring the Trinamool Congress, set to rest all speculation surrounding the alliance’s leadership by deciding to retain former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as its chairman and former defence minister George Fernandes as its convenor. It also decided to work harder to attract more regional players within its fold so as to position the alliance as a formidable force in the next general selection. The Trinamool Congress’ decision to stay away from the meeting, although not entirely unexpected, was in that respect a dampener. The meeting unanimously passed a resolution expressing the BJP-led alliance’s resolve “to work unitedly and with renewed vigour, to dislodge the anti-poor, anti-farmer, corrupt, non-performing and internally-paralysed UPA government and to secure a decisive mandate for the NDA”. The day-long conclave, held against the backdrop of the morale-boosting, back-to-back victories recorded by the BJP in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, was described as “special” by the alliance’s spokesperson Sushma Swaraj in that it was attended by the presidents of all the stakeholding parties, their parliamentary wing leaders and chief ministers of all NDA-ruled states. The meeting saw the chief ministers giving vent to their anger over the discriminatory treatment meted out to them by the Manmohan Singh government. While Mr Raman Singh (Chhattisgarh) accused the ruling coalition at the Centre of denying its share of 7,000 metric tonnes of rice to be distributed through the PDS, Bihar’s Nitish Kumar blasted the UPA government for its refusal “to part with a single paisa” for the 2.48 crore flood-affected people and plunging his stated into a power crisis. While Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan blamed the Centre for the power-crisis faced by his state, Ms Vasundhara Raje (Rajasthan) had her water woes to recount. “It has been decided that all the NDA chief ministers will meet again and compile a document listing all such instances of discrimination,” Ms Swaraj told newspersons later in the day. Also in the offing is a comparative study of the track-record of NDA-ruled states and that of the UPA-governed states, using six indices to map their report-cards. While describing the UPA as an “opportunistic” alliance, Mr Advani, in his concluding remarks, contended the evolution of NDA was “one of the most outstanding developments in the political history of post-independence India.” The opposition leader used the occasion to mount a blistering attack on the Congress. “The long misrule of the Congress, and its institutionalised arrogance that it alone has the birth-right to rule India are at the root of most of the problems our country is facing today,” Mr Advani contended, as he asked the participants to convert 2008 into a “Year of Change at the Centre.