George willing to leave NDA if coalition doesn't want him

New Delhi, Sep 23 (UNI) Former Defence Minister and NDA convenor George Fernandes, confirming his participation in the meeting of socialists called by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav on October 12 at Lucknow, said he would ''happily leave'' the coalition and his party if they did not want him anymore.

In an interview with television channel CNN-IBN, the former Janata Dal chief was unable to hide his anger at the way he was replaced by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav and said he felt 'betrayed' by the duo.

''None of them have any use for me and I don't think they will miss me,'' he said.

Asked if the Bihar Chief Minister had asked the BJP to remove him from the NDA, the veteran socialist, believed to have kept the coalition intact thus helping it rule the country for over six long years, said, ''That's a good news. NDA is not a party. It is a platform on which people come and go.'' Asked if he was ready to go, the leader replied, ''Yes, if they don't want me there I won't have any regrets.'' The septuagenarian leader said it was he who had brought Mr Nitish Kumar into the (Samata) Party and worked with dedication to change the situation in Bihar for three long years, but when success was achieved he (Mr Fernandes) had to go out.

''That is right,'' he said when asked if Mr Kumar turned him out.

Asked if his participation in Mr Mulayam Singh's gathering to commemorate the death anniversary of socialist doyen Ram Manohar Lohia would vitiate the atmosphere within the NDA, he conceded that the BJP would not be happy about it. ''They want to defeat Mulayam but I have always stood by him and here also I stand by him,'' he said.

Stating that the socialist blood has to be thicker than water, Mr Fernandes recalled how he stood by Mulayam when his life was in danger and the Chief Minister too had reciprocated by speaking the truth about ''Tehelka racket'' inside and outside Parliament.

''He was the only man who understood what that racket Tehelka was.... And he stood by me,'' he remarked.

Asked why he was not joining Samajwadi Party, Mr Fernandes replied ''I have other options''.

Dwelling at length on his problems within the JD (U) and Bihar, Mr Fernandes who represented the Nalanda Lok Sabha constitutency thrice in 1996, 1998 and 1999 also indicated that Mr Nitish Kumar took away his Nalanda seat in 2003 elections as he was 'totally scared' of the Barh seat held by him. ''I gave up the seat despite the fact that I had done lot of work in the constituency,'' he said.

Asked if he was hinting that Mr Kumar wanted to contest from Nalanda but lacked guts to put forth the suggestion directly, Mr Fernandes said, ''That's right,'' and added that he understood him and said, ''Nitish you take Nalanda and I'll go to my old constituency Muzaffarpur.'' He also said the Bihar Chief Minister was ''totally scared'' of losing in Barh. ''He did lose from Barh,'' Mr Fernandes remarked. Mr Kumar had contested from both constituencies but won from only Nalanda.

Asked if he considered relaunching Samata Party, the socialist leader avoided a direct answer by saying, ''There are people who want it (Samata Party) to be revitalised''.

To a question if he contemplated resigning from the JD (U) and quitting his Muzaffarpur seat, he said ''so be it''. He also claimed that the JD (U) presidential elections early this year were ''rigged''.

Clarifying his earlier remark that nothing had changed in Bihar after Mr Nitish Kumar took over as kidnappings continued to be unchecked, an unrepenting Fernandes said ''I spoke the truth as it was''.

He also refused to take back his comment that corruption under Nitish Kumar was rampant and the situation was worse than Lalu-Rabri regime and said, ''This is what people tell me and I am inclined to believe.'' The veteran socialist said he felt humiliated when he was referred to as an ''esteemed leader''. Asked if he was suggesting that he was a spent force, Mr Fernandes replied ''Yes, it goes beyond. At one level you say I have been rejected in the election after manipulation and still claim that I am your great leader. What does one call that?'' UNI