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Congress not averse to coalition to keep BJP out

The Congress today indicated that it was not averse to a coalition of secular parties, saying that they should remain united to prevent a BJP government from staging a comeback.

Talking to newspersons, senior party leader Arjun Singh expressed confidence that the secular parties would remain united to prevent the resurgence of communal forces. He, however, parried a question on Mulayam Singh's criticism of the Congress, saying the party had the highest regard for him and would not comment on them.

Singh refuted the Samajwadi Party's charge that it was not consulted before Congress president Sonia Gandhi publicly claimed the support of 272 MPs.

Asked about the differences in the secular formation following the sharp criticism of the Congress by Samajwadi Party, he said a meeting ground is bound to come as all the secular parties desire to come together to fight the common enemy.

To another question, he said the Congress would not hamper any effort by the secular parties to forge a viable alternative to the Vajpayee government.

About the Samajwadi Party's decision to oppose Congress's efforts to cobble up a government, Singh said, "If any secular party decided to fall out, it is up to it. We have no comments."

Congress president Sonia Gandhi will be meeting President K R Narayanan later today to discuss with him aspects of the responsibility given to her to explore the possibility of forming a viable government

Singh said as the second largest party in the Lok Sabha, the Congress should be invited to form the next government according to the Constitution. The question of numbers will come on the floor of the house, he maintained.

The Congress, he said, will go all out to avert a mid-term poll. It was the BJP and its prime minister who have been saying that there is no alternative to elections. The Congress was totally opposed to it, he claimed.

UNI

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