NEW DELHI: The Prime Minster, Mr Chandra Shekhar, has asserted that caste alone could not be the sole criterion to determine job reservations and that allowance should also be made for economic criteria so that affirmative action does not lead to the kind of violent confrontation provoked by the former Prime Minister Mr V.P.Singh decision to partially implement the Mandal Commission’s recommendations.

In an interview here Mr Chandra Shekhar said, Reservations on caste basis cannot be thrown out totally. But because of lopsided development many from upper castes were poor even when we gained freedom. So while declaring the reservation policy there should ahve been an attempt to synthesis both these trends.

Mr Chandra Shekhar also ruled out early elections stating that “all the apprehensions that elections are round the comer are totally baseless. Nothing is going to happen in a very short time because the situation is so fluid.”

The Prime Minister said he would provide a stable government at the Centre because of “shared perceptions with the Congress at this hour of crisis,” He did not rule out a further influx of members from the Janata Dal, led by Mr V.P. Singh to his party.

On Ayodhya, Mr Chandra Shekhar felt the problem could be solved through discussions between religious leaders and not politicians. However, if these discussions failed, the problem will have to be resolved through judicial process.

Mr Chandra Shekhar said that in Punjab and Kashmir anybody accepting the integrity and sovereignty of the nation could contribute to establishing peace and order. Every effort must be made to assuage the hurt feelings of the people in these states. But not at the cost of the integrity and sovereignty of the nation.

After asserting that India’s foreign policy would aim at promoting the best of relations with neighbors. Mr Chandra Shekhar said: “We should work together to solve the basic problems of our people.”

On Pakistan the Prime Minister added, “We have been brothers. It is unfortunate that because of a tum of history we were separated. But as brothers we should live together in peace and tranquility.”

Excerpts from the interview.

Q: Questions are being asked about the nature of the understanding between you and the Congress, the durability of this experiment and about the kind of cooperation that will sustain it.

A: People apprehend that 1979 will be repeated. The question is, who created this situation? The thing is to retrieve the situation. The reality in the country is such that a midterm poll was not possible. Only a month ago we asked parliament to pass a Constitution amendment Bill to postpone elections in Punjab. I do not say that he whole country is in the same position but by and large the situation is not really very conducive or a free and fair electing at this time, That is my opinion and that common appreciation is in the “congress leadership also. Some their friends also think along this line. I don’t claim that this is an ideal situation, but it is an exigency created by the outgoing government. In all humility we are trying to manage affairs as best as we can of the perception is common then he solution will also be common. %o this is why the Congress and we decided to work together at this hour of crisis.

About the stability of the government, I think that it must depend on its effectiveness. If you go by numbers doubts are quite natural. But if the feeling of urgency is of both sides and you feel that you have to discharge a duty to the nation then it is enough to bind us together. And I hope that in the immediate future there is no danger to the stability of this government.

Q: Do you expect an influx of more members from the Janata Dal led by Mr V.P.Singh in the coming days?

A: That is quite possible, I cannot make any claim about that, Most of the members of the Janata Dal feel that all the tall claims made by the former Prime Minister are going to be exposed. You know the way exposures are taking place Mr Advani’s speech in the Lok Sabha, Nov 17 statement of the UP chief minister, give the real picture of the person who was trying to fight everything in the name of secularism. There should be some limit to the politics of maneuvering. For 11 months we have worked with the BJP and all of a sudden the then Prime Minister realized that in order to establish secularism in this country he should launch a frontal attack on the BJP.

Other Claim: The other claim is that the mandate was against the Congress. Yes, of course. But the mandate was also that the BJP and the Janata Dal work together. If they did not work together, should I say that Mr Advani and Mr V.P. Singh both went against the mandate? If (it is agreed that) they went against the mandate then I also may be accused of going against it. I think that this realization is there among the members of the Janata Dal. And there will be no surprise if most of them come to our side.

Q: Doesn’t the country now require a regrouping of forces which believe in the secular order? Forces which believe that there should be a dynamic economy and also greater social justice? Would you see your arrangement with the Congress as a first step towards this kind of realignment? A: I cannot describe this as a first step but surely it is a move in the right direction. We cannot afford to have confrontation in today’s world. If all of us together make an effort perhaps we can retrieve the situation. If we go on fighting on small issues or small questions then we shall not be able to face the problems.

Q: I wonder whether there is a commonality of approach between you and the Congress on issues like, say, Punjab.

A: Yes, in Punjab everybody wants peace. Nobody wants to compromise on the integrity and government of the nation. Anybody who accepts this should be wishing peace and order in the state. The Congress leadership has a past on Punjab. I do not have that past. So that may be the difference.

Q: Delhi really seems to have no policy on Punjab. The priority was to break the back of insurgency even while holding a dialogue. Would you agree that this sent out wrong signals?

A; You do whatever you have to do but it is not necessary to use assertive and bold words while handling delicate matters. Sometimes the state has to take hard decisions, but those should not be proclaimed in a way that it offends the feelings of others. In Punjab, what they have been doing is to issue provocative statements one way or the other, Politics is a game of reciprocity. Unless I know what the attitude of the other side will be, it will not be the proper for me to openly state the attitude that will be adopted by the state. But I can say I understand the hurt feelings of the people in Punjab, which we should try everything possible to assuage. But not at the cost of the integrity and sovereignty of the nation.

Q: That holds true for Kashmir as well.

A: That holds true for everything in this country.

Article extracted from this publication >> November 23, 1990