New Delhi: The National Agenda of Governance of the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) proposes to go beyond issues that are currently in the agenda but BJP's (Bharatiya Janata Party) pet issues will not impinge on it, Defence Minister and NDA Convenor George Fernandes said today (Mar 12, 2004).

"We are working on the first draft of the agenda and we propose to go beyond what we have covered so far on matters of economic development and political and social issues. The agenda will be ready by next week-end," he told senior journalists in an interaction.

Whatever more action was needed than what the NDA had promised and acted upon during the last five years would be covered apart from some issues that need to be addressed, he said but refused to divulge details.

On BJP and the constituents of NDA having different views on various subjects, Fernandes agreed that BJP has its own programmes and policy statement "but that is not going to impinge on NDA agenda for governance".

Asked why on top of claims by various constituents that they were close to BJP now and what was the need for the "facade of separate identity", he said politics was about perceptions apart from ideology.

"Ideological differences will always be there. But as long as governance is concerned we have come together. Having bonhomie within a coalition does not mean we should merge," he said citing coalition experiments elsewhere, including Israel where ultra-rightist Likud Party is coexisting with the leftist Labour Party.