The Dominant Pole'

Vajpayee exults over his triumph, and dismisses minority fear of his party's militant allies as 'a fiction'

As news of his election victory brought jubilant crowds to his New Delhi home late last Thursday, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee took time out from the party for an interview with NEWSWEEK's Sudip Mazumdar. Excerpts:

MAZUMDAR: If your last coalition government could not survive with 18 parties, how can you manage 24 parties now?

VAJPAYEE: The performance of our government with 18 partners has been creditable on all fronts. We gave the country a decisive government that took major economic, administrative, strategic and diplomatic steps. As for survival? Well, our government fell on account of one partner who was being lured away by the Congress party. He was unhappy for not being able to force us to accept untenable demands. Between the fall of the government and the elections, more parties have joined us. This is primarily because the BJP has emerged as the dominant pole of Indian politics.

What are your priorities?

We fought this election as the National Democratic Alliance [a coalition of 24 parties].The NDA's agenda is to build a proud and prosperous India. We want to accelerate the second generation of reforms — insurance has to be opened up, taxation laws further simplified, infrastructure has to be matched with the demands of the next century. We also want to cut down government expenditure. We are determined to invest more on primary education, especially for girls, on primary health care and supply of drinking water.

Minorities still view the BJP and some of its militant allies with suspicion. How do you propose to allay their fears?

This "fear" is more a fiction than fact. Minority-community apprehensions about the BJP are a bogey, a political tool to mobilize opinion against us. If you compare the records of previous governments and ours, you will find the past 18 months have been free of communal violence and tension. Yes, there have been some reprehensible incidents, but they are an aberration and not the pattern. Following one particular incident, the killing of an Australian missionary and his sons, we promptly instituted an inquiry by a Supreme Court judge. The inquiry was completed quickly and its report made public without any delay. I may add that maintaining law and order is a task of the state governments and beyond the purview of the federal government.

In any event, I would like to assert that we believe in the principle of Sarva Panth Samabhav, equal respect for all faiths. This is the cornerstone of our view of secularism and the secular state. The state will protect all its citizens, irrespective of their caste, creed, gender or religion.

The recent election campaign witnessed the worst kind of mudslinging by all political parties. What ails Indian politics?

Well, elections in a multiparty democracy as large and diverse as India can be a raucous affair. I personally feel that programs and policies should form the basis of campaign issues, and not individuals. But the heat and dust of elections carries away campaigners, and many things are said that ought not to be said. This would be true for democratic elections anywhere in the world. Once elections are over, we leave the campaign behind us and settle down in our respective roles as the party in government or the party in opposition. I would say our parties are still evolving. Whatever ailment may afflict Indian politics, we have a cure — our unshakable faith in democracy.

Do you think the Lahore peace process can be revived even after the India-Pakistan conflict this summer near the Kashmiri town of Kargil?

The conflict in Kargil was the result of Pakistan's misadventure — militarily, economically and diplomatically. We did not inflict this damage on them; they invited it upon themselves. My visit to Lahore reflected our commitment to put 50 years of hostility behind us and build a new relationship based on mutual respect and friendship. That commitment still remains. It is now for Pakistan to reciprocate in a manner that will convince us that they mean business. To begin with, transborder terrorism has to stop. If Pakistan reciprocates in a genuine and credible manner, yes, the Lahore peace process can be revived.

Will India now sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty?

We were in the process of building a national consensus on the issue of signing the CTBT when domestic political developments forced a midterm general election.That process of securing a national consensus will now be resumed once a new government is in place. Some matching action by our key interlocutors will help build the consensus.

What do you expect from U.S. President Bill Clinton's proposed state visit to New Delhi next January?

India and the United States are the two largest democracies in the world. We share many common ideals, visions and concerns. President Clinton's visit should strengthen our mutual friendship and pave the way for greater cooperation between our governments so that both India and the U.S. are benefited. I also hope that the visit will result in better American appreciation of India's security concerns.