NEW DELHI: Karala Chief Minister K. Karunakaran on Aug, 19 hosted a lunch for senior Congress leaders for the second time since last Friday at which it was reiterated that the party President should do everything to strengthen the party before elections to the four northern States. While most of the leader who attended the Friday luncheon were also present Thursday, the new faces were Andhra Chief Minister K.Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Pranab Mukherjee, union ministers Sitarans Kesri and Balram Jakhar, former union minister Madhavrao Scindia and the political adviser to the Congress President, Jitendra Prasada, senior leaders N.D.Tiwari and G.K:Moopanar were also there, along with A.K. Anthony and others, Maharashtra Chief Minister Sharad Pawar could not attend.
Karunakaran, who also had a one0one meeting with Arjun Singh after the latter returned from Bombay Wednesday night, said: “He did not give any suggestion for leadership change or anything else.”
The ageing leader admitted that “Lam now satisfied that ail Congressmen are united.”
Asked if there were moves afoot to concretize the idea of leader ship change, Karunakaran said: “Now Narasimha Rao is leading the party and the country and is doing things in the right way. So where is the question of thinking of others?”‘ “He asserted that Rao will be the leader for the assembly elections and all elections thereafter.”
Asked if faith in Rao’s leader ship meant Congressmen had no complaints about the way the party was functioning, Karunakaran said: “There are complaints. But these were aired without any ulterior motive.
Asked if the delay in filing vacancies in the party organization and reconstituting governing bodies of the party was among their complaints, he said: “That is still there. But Rao is doing things. He likes to do them one by one. This may also be done now,”
Referring to the forthcoming elections, Karunakaran said that “the Congress will fight on its own.” He subsequently elaborated: That means the party will fight for its policies, It is different from the Congress going it alone in the elections.” Asked if this meant that the party was considering Sharad Pawar’s suggestion of having an alliance with likeminded parties in Uttar Pradesh to defeat the BJP, he said: “The party will see what has to be done. We did not get any occasion to discuss Pawar’s Suggestion so far,”
He, however, said that suggestions would have to come from the states on all questions relating to the elections, including whether to hold them and if so, whether the Congress would benefit by having an alliance with other secular parties. In reply to another question on alliances in Uttar Pradesh, Karunakaran said; “We did it earlier in Tamil Nadu, have been doing it in Kerala. The Congress has a past of fighting along with likeminded parties on a mini mum support program.”
Article extracted from this publication >> August 27, 1993
