Sushma terms 3rd front 'non-starter'

Agartala, Aug 5 (UNI) Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj today termed the proposed third front, led by Left parties, a 'non-starter'.

The BJP leader said it would not come to fruition and asserted that the bi-polar politics led by her party and the Congress would dominate the next general election.

Talking to the media here, the former union minister alleged that the Congress-led UPA government did not secure Parliament's trust in the confidence vote on July 22.

''They bought the votes in the floor of Parliament and (the party) will lose power in the next elections,'' she remarked.

''For Dr Manmohan Singh it was not a political victory. Rather he was saved by suitcase vote,'' she commented.

She said the allegation of offering bribe to three BJP MPs had already been ''established and substantiated'' before the parliamentary enquiry commission.

Criticising the Left parties, Mrs Swaraj said the country was confused with the latest statement of CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat on the issue of Left projected Prime Ministerial candidate Ms Mayavati. But after the trust vote Mr Karat indicated that it was not final and since the issue was very serious they had not considered the issue of PM's candidature. Instead they were trying to consolidate anti-UPA vote in Parliament.

Referring to past instances, she ruled out the possibility of third front's survival. She said it was conceptualised with Ms Jayalalitha but within a few days she left it and then Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav joined the front with the highest number of MPs. But finally he too went away, she added.

Mrs Swaraj reaffirmed that if the NDA comes to power they would renegotiate the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, keeping the country's nuclear sovereignty in mind, because ''the BJP is not anti-America like the Left. We want good strategic relationship with the US,'' she stated.

She said the BJP wants a human face in all bi-lateral treaties and economic policies.

She, along with some national level leaders, addressed a party rally at the Stable ground.

Later they would march to the Tripura Secretariat to protest ''administrative failure'' to contain terrorist movement through the Tripura-Bangladesh border, price hike of essential commodities among other issues.

The BJP leaders accused the Manmohan Singh government of failing to tackle terrorism, maintain good relation with neighbouring countries, address farmers' problem and price rise. These would be the BJP's main election plank besides, the Ram sethu.

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