Senior Congress leader K Karunakaran yesterday said his party favoured negotiations without any preconditions to come to an understanding with the United Front.
We are always for negotiations and without any conditions, the Congress Working Committee member told journalists yesterday.
He said top leaders of the United Front and the Congress were in touch with each other to arrive at some sort of agreement, but declined to spell it out saying it was still too early.
UF sources said CPI-M general secretary, Harkishen Singh Surjeet, held a meeting with Karunakaran, though neither leader would say what transpired at the discussions.
Congress president Sitaram Kesari, held discussions with senior Congressmen, including Karunakaran and Sharad Pawar, yesterday morning in the backdrop of the UF steering committees view that Congress should reconsider its decision to withdraw support.
Karunakaran said any negotiation in the new situation would be transparent, adding we are not making backroom deals.
Our dealings will be transparent and the understanding reached straightforward, he said.
Karunakaran hotly denied that the Congress decision to withdraw support to the UF was due to the spate of litigations against several Congress leaders.
He quoted the much used phrase let the law take its course. Karunakaran denied that Congressmen were stunned by the Congress presidents decision to withdraw support.
All Congressmen are jubilant over the bold decision, he added.
Asked how the Congress hoped to form a government as it did not have the requisite support in the Lok Sabha, Karunakaran said this is not the time for the numbers game. The political scene could change in the next few days.
Karunakaran said in this era of coalitions, political parties committed to secularism would have to make adjustments and give up the rigid stances of anti-Congressism or anti-Communism.
He said the Congress decision to withdraw support came as the party was convinced he (H D Deve Gowda) could not contain communalism.
Many Congressmen are banking on the Tamil Maanila Congress and DMK aligning with the party in the post-April 11 scenario as they feel the Deve Gowda government will fall when it faces the confidence vote in Parliament that day.
