It would be better to have another election. That is the only way out of the crisis:Vajpayee

Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

Former prime minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Monday urged President Shankar Dayal Sharma not to allow the formation of another United Front government with support.from the Congress.

"The same combination which is responsible for creating the present Constitutional crisis must not be allowed to rule the country again under any circumstances," Vajpayee said, "It would be better to have another election. That is the only democratic way out of the prevailing crisis."

Vajpayee indicated that his party was not against trying its hand at government formation once more. ''It's for the President to decide (which party to invite)," he said.

He said that the nation should be placed under President's rule, under circumstances such as this. "A Constitutional amendment should be made to ban mid-term dissolution of Parliament. If circumstances lead to such a situation, the President should be empowered to take over," he opined.

Asked whether he was planning to make a formal request in this regard to the President, Vajpayee said: "Right now I am appealing to the nation."

"After all," he continued, "the Indian President is not decorative like the British queen. He is elected by a very comprehensive electoral college and is the supreme commander of our armed forces."

The present crisis, Vajpayee observed, should serve as an eye-opener to everyone . He called for a provision in the Constitution which would make it binding on any political party which chose to pull down an existing government to provide a viable alternative. "The German constitution provides for this," he said, "If we had such a provision, the President could have asked the Congress to find a solution."

Holding the Congress and the UF equally responsible for this extraordinary political crisis, Vajpayee claimed the parties were now making patch-up efforts 'solely because of their fear of BJP.' "It would be grossly improper to let them play another cruel joke on the nation," he said.

Asked what he meant about forming a National Democratic Front, Vajpayee claimed it was not to form a government now, but for the future. Will the new front include the Bahujan Samaj Party? "We have not held any talks so far; but we propose to do so," he said.