Don't call on NDA to form Govt: Cong to tell Kalam Wednesday, May 12 2004 20:35 Hrs (IST)
New Delhi:
In a move to check National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government, Congress today (May 12, 2004) hinted it planned to convey to President A P J Abdul Kalam not to invite the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition to form the next Government if they get less number than majority.
"We would convey to President Kalam not to invite NDA to form the next Government if they did not get the decisive mandate seeking which they went to polls," highly placed Congress sources said.
"There is a Government, which went to polls seeking decisive mandate and when they get less number of seats than what they sought, it means the people have rejected them. In this situation they have no moral right to stake claim," they said.
The sources said the President would be conveyed the "mood among the Congress party and its allies that the NDA coalition has lost moral authority to stake claim to form a Government as they have no mandate to govern".
However, they said, the situation would have been understandable if elections were held on schedule and the ruling coalition got "fewer" seats. "But Lok Sabha elections were preponed to get more seats."
They declined to comment on suggestions that there were two options before the President, either to follow his predecessor K R Narayanan's example, seeking letter of support or S D Sharma inviting the single largest pre-poll combination.