Prime Minister I K Gujral says he turned down the offer to be the compromise candidate for presidentship of the Janata Dal as he was not obsessed with power and did not see his office as a power centre.
To try to monopolise power by combining the Prime Ministers office, which is time-consuming by itself, with that of the party president, is against my nature, Gujral said, adding he had never run a party. I am trying to see that the party does not split but basically ruling out the idea that I should take up the job of party president, Gujral said.
The reason for my not taking up the job is very simple. One, I do not know how to manage a party. And I am not power-obsessed, Gujral said in an interview.
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He admitted that a solution is not in my making. He was, however, not prepared to compromise on his principles to keep his job.
I dont worry about my fall because I sit very lightly on my chair. I will continue as long as I dont have to compromise on my principles.....If I have to say goodbye to 7, Race Course Road, it should take me not more than ten minutes to vacate, Gujral said.
The Prime Minister answered questions about his government, his views on a coalition system, on the economy, relations with Pakistan and the US and gave clarifications on his thinking on the civil aviation policy.
I never look at my office as a power centre. I look at it as a guiding centre, Gujral said, clarifying that even when former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda had suggested this to him he had turned it down. Asked if it was true that he did not want to muddy his hand in the murky waters of party politics as he did not wish to sully his clean record in public life, Gujral replied: That is true. It has taken me 50-60 years to earn this (reputation) and this is not a commodity I would like to part with.
However, Gujral said even as politicians come under increasing public scrutiny and charges are hurled almost indiscriminately against those in public life, there has to be some distinction made between allegations and hard evidence (of corruption).
In a pointed reference to the high-profile cases handled by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Prime Minister said the investigative agencies had been very exhibitionist and not a single prominent case handled by the CBI had fetched a judicial conviction.
Though I believe there is much to be cleaned up in public life, the intrusion into administration by the judiciary on the one side and the witch-hunt by the media will not help. It will only harm, Gujral said.
He said any sensitive person who is thin-skinned will not like to stay in office even if unfounded allegations are hurled against him. He will go out, Gujral said.
He said he did wish to make a case on behalf of corrupt politicians but there has to be a sense of balance somewhere if you want to run a system. It seems we are out to kill anybody against whom any frivolous allegation is made or even some suspicion (of wrongdoing) is cast, Gujral said.
The Prime Minister said, contrary to popular perception, he never felt hamstrung in heading a minority coalition as important decisions were arrived at now after threadbare debate in the cabinet rather than being imposed upon by a powerful Prime MInister. And although people outside may consider a coalition government a weakness, I find it a matter of strength, the Prime Minister said. He said in single party governments earlier, many important decisions were followed by nationwide protests. But in the case of a coalition, since a range of parties with diverse views were involved in the decision making, the street protests were nominal but never of the same nature as it used to be.
For instance, he said, he was trying to persuade other parties, particularly the Left, to agree on the oil price hike which was economically imperative but politically sensitive. I have almost succeeded. The only point is when I am able to do it, he said. He hinted that a decision on the price hike might be possible some time in August after the Congress plenary in Calcutta.. It is very easy for me to announce oil price hike tomorrow and face the consequences and the strikes and everything. It is far better for me to spend time and try to create a consensus and understand the viewpoints of people who are opposing, he stated.
On the Prithvi missile issue that has been a subject of much newspaper debate, Gujral said there was no question of deployment at the moment because basically one responds to a situation and at this time one does not see any threat around the corner.
He said the missiles were moved up north to take advantage of an existing storage facility as we cannot spend money building more storage capacities.
On the India-Pakistan talks, he said there was no bar to discussing everything, including all aspects of Kashmir, but that does not mean India is prepared to negotiate its integrity.
No part of India is available for negotiation, he asserted. He said India has been discussing disputed areas with China also for 20 years but that did not mean it had given away anything. He said although he was not expecting any dramatic breakthrough in the talks, on the basis of discussions till now he remained cautiously optimistic.
He said there had been deliberate propaganda over his views on civil aviation after he criticised the existing policy in Kathmandu last month. The policy decision that was taken during Deve Gowdas time is the basis of my policy also, Gujral said. I am not changing that.
What he wanted to be done, he said, was to make things easier for more airlines to fly to India so that travellers faced no problems. It was wrong to say he was in favour of particular deals or airlines, he said in a reference to the Tata-Singapore Airlines proposal to start a domestic airline in India.
Gujral said he hoped to visit New York in September to attend the UN General Assembly session and would be prepared to go to Washington for bilateral discussions if invited. But so far there is nothing, he clarified.