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George tight-lipped on divestment

The economic policies of the Vajpayee government, including divestment, will come under sharp focus at the Samata Party National Executive and National Council meetings at Rajkot later this month even as party President George Fernandes is maintaining ambiguity about his reported opposition to the policy.

"The party would come out with a political resolution, taking stock of the situation, and it would be appropriate for the NDA government to carry out 'mid-course correctives' as it has completed a little over 50 per cent of the present Lok Sabha term," Fernandes said at a news conference without giving his opinion on the divestment issue.

The defence minister dodged all questions about his opposition to the divestment policy by saying that he was a part of the government though he was not a member of the Cabinet Committee on Divestment.

''I will express my views at the appropriate forum.'' He also declined comment on the newspaper reports about his and Petroleum Minister Ram Naik's proposal allowing public sector ONGC to bid for shares in the petroleum majors BPCL and HPCL, divestment in which has been postponed.

He also soft-pedaled the issue of his meetings with other like-minded ministers, Human Resources Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Naik saying discussions were bound to take place on such issues and no special attention must be attached to it.

His meeting with Joshi was part of routine breakfast meetings where they would be discussing host of issues being confronted by the nation.

Fernandes said that two groups, for and against, divestment seem to have emerged because of the media reports.

He also did not think that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's outbursts against those opposed to the divestment were aimed against individuals. ''It was more against the tendency,'' he observed.

As far as the NDA was concerned, it did not work on the basis of any groupings and the prime minister, who was the chairman of the NDA, was capable of handling the matter effectively. ''He is ten times more capable of what you think,'' Fernandes said.

He confirmed that he had discussions with BJP spokesman and former Divestment Minister Arun Jaitley on a host of economic issues including divestment of PSU shares.

However, not all the reports appearing in the media, and the persons he was supposed to have met, were correct, he added.

Fernandes said the three-day national executive and national council would also discuss the report of Dr S P Gupta, Member of the Planning Commission, which talks of generating five crore jobs in five years. The report was discussed at the Lok Manch, where many political parties, excluding the Congress and Left Parties, took part.

He said the party was preparing papers on the issue and for consideration at the Samata National Executive and National Council meetings scheduled to be held on October 28, 29 and 30.

These papers would be sent to other parties to ponder over the matter and the issue needed to be debated and discussed at various levels nationally, Fernandes added.

''We will draw a road map for the future policies,'' he remarked.

The party would come out with a paper on communal harmony as secularism was the basis and foundation for Indian society and the Constitution.

''It was the concern of all to retain and nurture this secular fabric because what was happening in the neighbouring country (Pakistan), a nation that gave up secularism when the sub-continent came out of the clutches of colonialism, was public knowledge,'' said the defence minister.

He also blamed the media for tendentious reporting on Gujarat that 'never allowed the violence to abate.'

Asked if Samata Party would fight elections with BJP, Fernandes said the party had not formulated its election strategy.

Meanwhile, the breakaway Rajaram faction of Lok Janshakti Party announced its merger with the Samata Party in Uttar Pradesh. Rajaram is an MLA in Uttar Pradesh.

UNI

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