BANGALORE: Haryana Chief Minister Devi Lal today made a categorical assertion that he would not stake his claim for Prime Minister ship in the event of the National Front coming to power at the Centre in the ensuing general elections nor was he aspiring to be the President of India.

Responding to newsmen queries at a Press Conference here this morning Devi Lal asserted that “wrong inferences” were being drawn from his remarks that he wanted a “kisan leader” to be the next Prime Minister. This description was not meant to keep out V.P. Singh, he clarified.

On the contrary, Devi Lal said that he still wished that V.P. Singh who also had a lot to do with the espousal of the cause of the peasantry, should get the maximum number of votes from MPs of the National Front and should become the next Prime Minister.”

However, Devi Lal who is chairman of the Janata Dal Parliamentary Board assented that his party and the National front would not be rejecting anyone as Prime Minister until after the Lok Sabha polls. It would be for the Fronts MPs to decide who would be their leader in the legislature.

Asked about the Janata Dal affairs with particular reference to the latest salvo fired by the Chandra Shekhar camp, Devi Lal sought to floor everybody by saying that the party was “functioning smoothly”. When there is a merger of different parties some differences are bound to be there. But these would be sorted out.

In reply to a question, Devi Lal maintained that party president V.P Singh had the full liberty to effect a change of leader of a state unit in the overall interest of the party. In the case of the controversial changeover in Bihar he said ‘Singh did have informal consultations with himself (Devi Lal) and other senior leaders. He, however, was not sure if Singh consulted Chandra Shekhar as well.

Asked if he was scared of a “toppling” of his government in Karnataka style since he was frequently referring to such attempts by the Congress I Devi Lal shot back that no body could touch him. “I have made my people in Haryana so politically conscious that they would not tolerate any horse trading and toppling,” he added.

JD promises to write off rural debt

The Janata Dai on Tuesday unveiled its Lok Sahba poll eve policies and programmes promising among other things writing off the loans up to Rs 10,000 taken by the small farmers artisans and agricultural labourers.

The Janata Dal President V.P. Singh who briefed reporters after a day long deliberations of the patty’s office bearers from all over the country here, said the “karz mukt” programme would begin immediately. “We will not wait for the formation of the (our) government but go to the farmers artisans and agricultural workers to mobilize them and on August 15 we will declare these categories as free from debt,” he said.

Singh said if the Government used force to collect debts the Janata Dal workers would stand

by the debtors and “resist such efforts at realization” He however said it would be a onetime step and the real remedy lies in improving the terms of trade for rural masses.”

He said the major policy thrust of the Janata Dal would be the right to work as a fundamental right and it would be enshrined in the Constitution if the Dal voted to power.” The party will mobilize youth in the coming months and collect one crore signatures all over the country in favor of the amendment and present them to the President on August 15,” he said.

The meeting was attended by about 200 office bearers including Devi Lal Ramakrishna Hegde, Ajit Singh, Biju Patnaik, Madhu Dandayate, Bommai and others. Chandra Shekhar was conspicuous by his absence.

Article extracted from this publication >>  June 2, 1989