Janata Dal working president Sharad Yadav yesterday declared in the Lok Sabha that the United Fronts budget will be pro-people (soft). Yadavs speech obliquely dared the Congress to withdraw support to the government.
We came with pride and we will go with pride, but we will stand by the poor, Yadav declared in the Lok Sabha. Whether we get one days support or two days, or whether people call it a daily wage government, it would work for improving the lot of the seventy per cent of the population of the country. Besides, a weak government always works better.
Yadav was introducing the motion of thanks on the customary address of President Shanker Dayal Sharma to MPs of both houses of Parliament on its opening day on Friday.
Also Read
Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he said the progress of the Indian society could be measured only by measuring the improvement in the life of the daily wagers. Yadav said unless the lot of the seventy per cent of the population improved, the market size would remain static. This would thus stunt industrial growth.
Quite uncharacteristically, the JD leader spoke on a wide range of issues, ranging from the need to demand free movement of labour as a precondition to allowing free movement of goods along the international borders and improving lies with the neighbouring countries, to security council membership for India and the country successfully standing on its ground on the CTBT issue.
Coming as it did on a day full of rumours of Congress propping up TMC leader GK Moopanar as a replacement to Prime Minister Deve Gowda, Yadav praised the Prime Minister as one who understands the poor, was one of them and even dressed like them: Even when he goes abroad he doesnt change his dress and then went on to say that as far as the performance of his government was concerned its policies were correct, its intentions were right, and its leader was all right.
The United Front followed up Yadav with its representative from TMC, MS Chittan, who swore by the leadership of Gowda, who had proved all predictions of his government being unstable wrong. Chittan said his party was committed to the common minimum programme, the main agenda of which is to wipe out tears from the eyes of the poor.
Yadav listed out the achievements of the Front government like the revival of the Inter-State Council, the successful meetings of the National Development Council, the frank debate on Article 356, the signing of water pact with Bangladesh and Nepal, the successful holding of elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab and above all the resolve of the government to introduce and pass the Lok Pal Bill in the current session.
The introduction of the Lok Pal Bill should be accompanied with a ten-day special session of Parliament devoted to the discussion on corruption in the country, Yadav suggested. He said the government should survey the real estate in major cities of the country and find out their ownership to prepare data on who has amassed how much wealth.
There was not much difference in the thrust of the speech of Yadav and his TMC colleague but for the mention of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi three times by the latter in his speech. He even termed Rajiv Gandhi as our great leader.
Another difference in the two speeches was the issue of reservation for women in the legislatures. While Yadav did not mention these, Chittan demanded that the government should fulfill its promise by reserving 33 per cent of seats for women as done by our great leader Rajiv Gandhi in local bodies elections.