Centre should go in for early elections: Jethmalani

Hyderabad, Dec 30 (UNI) Alleging that the Left parties had only weakened the Congress, renowned jurist Ram Jethmalani today suggested that the Congress go in for early elections in 2008 instead of the 2009 general elections in the country.

Addressing a press conference here, he said ''the Left parties and its leaders like CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat have spread the message that the Centre was acting cowardly on the issue of Indo-US nuclear deal. The Left parties and Mr Karat have helped the BJP to shine in the country by weakening the Congress.'' Asking the Congress to fight the next elections on its own, he said ''I am not the enemy of Communists. But the Indian Communists tarnish the image of the UPA and ensure that the BJP comes back to power at the Centre. Particularly, Mr Karat is not an Indian patriot.'' Alleging that the Centre failed to solve the vexed Kashmir issue, Mr Jethmalani claimed the Kashmir problem had come close to a solution. ''But for unexpected reasons, the Centre slowed down and lost an opportunity to solve the issue. Whatever proposals came from Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf should have been accepted. The Centre took the opposite direction and stalled talks,'' he said.

''We must solve the border problem with China. Settlement of border problems is a judicially manageable issue. If not, the Centre should go to the International Court of Justice to solve the border problem with China.'' Referring to the recent assassination of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto, he said it was a setback to the democratic process in Pakistan. Democratic parties should come forward and revive democracy in violence-torn Pakistan, he added.

UNI