By IANS,
Lucknow : The Third Front, in its formation stage, would soon hold nationwide public meetings to “expose” the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s “failures”, former prime minister and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) president H.D. Deve Gowda said here Monday.
He said the Third Front was an alternative to the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was against the UPA government’s commitment to “western economic policies”.
Deve Gowda, who was here to attend a regional convention of his party, told reporters the public meetings would be to expose “the UPA government’s failure on all fronts”.
“We are a union of 11 political parties and we all voted against the (India-US) nuclear deal. The decision (to form the front) was taken after a meeting at Behenji’s (Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s) house,” Deve Gowda said.
Asked if he would meet Mayawati while he was here, he said: “I am in a hurry to reach my family for a festival.”
Deve Gowda was reluctant to discuss the leadership issue of the front. “I have no ambitions to become the prime minister and the leadership will be decided soon.”
He complimented the people of Uttar Pradesh for opting for a stable government. “It has been after a gap of 16 years that the people of Uttar Pradesh showed wisdom and elected a stable government under the leadership of Mayawati,” he said.
Quoting a recent World Bank report, Deve Gowda alleged the UPA government had failed on all fronts.
“The report reveals that poverty, unemployment, farmer suicides, malnutrition, rural to urban migration, etc. have alarmingly increased in the country in the past few years. Not only Congress, but the BJP-led coalition government are to be blamed for this,” he said.
The focus of the government has shifted from pro-agriculture to pro-America policies, he alleged.
Explaining the importance of small parties, the former prime minister said the JD-S would definitely play an important role in the formation of the next central government.
“The BJP-led government was a coalition of 23 parties and the present government consists of 17 to 18 parties. I admit that we (JD-S) are a small entity but more secular parties like us will come together and play an important role in the progress of the country,” Deve Gowda claimed.
After Uttar Pradesh, the JD-S will hold regional conferences in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and other states to spread awareness about the “anti-poor” and “pro-American” priorities of the UPA government, he added.