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NEW DELHI: Congress candidate from Lucknow parliamentary constituency Dr Karan Singh of Congress promises an interesting and a serious contest as he challenges not only Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee but also dares the ruling BJP on its core ideology of Hindutva. "I attract more Hindu intellectuals than the BJP," asserted Dr Karan Singh.
Dr Karan Singh on Sunday told The Free Press Journal, "My work on Hinduism is well-known and is based on the Vedanta, which believes in the Universal Family, or Vasudaivakutumbakam. `Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudavanti - Truth is One, the Wise call It by various names,' declares the Veda. There is no room for divisiveness in Hinduism, which is known for its catholicity of outlook."
Dr Singh underscored the point that in Hinduism, there is no room for negation or exclusion, being practised in the name of Hindutva, which robs the very Indian national social ethos. He had been President of Temple of Understanding, which is a inter-faith organisation and he has also been addressing worldwide inter-faith audiences, explaining the basic spirit of catholicism, tolerance and accommodation of Hinduism.
Emphasising that he, himself, hailed from a Muslim-majority State, Dr Karan Singh asserted, "I worshipped in Muslim shrines like the Dargahs. Whenever I visit Rome, I make it a point to visit the St Peter's Church."
Dr Karan Singh is leaving for Lucknow on Monday and he would be filinig his papers on Tuesday. Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) President Salman Khursheed has already met Dr Karan Singh and on Sunday, AICC Secretary incharge of UP Imran Kidwai also called on Dr Karan Singh.
"I feel happy taking on Prime Minister Vajpayee and I take this as an important challenge. While no one can predict the result, I am not making it a token contest. In fact, I am contesting to win. This is not a symbolic fight. I am thrilled to take up this exciting challenge. In a democracy, everybody should be challenged," he said.
Dr Karan Singh his strengths are two-fold. The Congress Party's planks of stability, security and development on the one hand and his own track-record of public life spanning five-decades.
Dr Karan Singh, who became Sadr-e-Riyasat at the age of 18 years, served as a Governor for 18 years, was MP for 18 years, out of which, he served for 11 years as a Union Minister and was the Indian Ambassador to the Unites States.
The much-trumpeted track-record of Prime Minister Vajpayee, on the other hand, only boasts of serving for a mere two years as Union Minister in the Morarji Desai Government, which came to power in March, 1977 and collapsed in July, 1979.
On the party planks he proposes to highlight during the campaign are stability, security and development.
While the Congress is contesting as many as 460 seats, the BJP is contesting only 330 seats. Obviously, it robs the BJP of its stability plank, he said.
Another glaring factor which goes against the BJP is the 24-party coalition it heads. "It is something that is unheard of. A coalition is of two or three parties. For the first time we had an unwieldy coalition of 13 parties during the United Front Government. Again, during the BJP-Allies Government, it was a coalition of 18 parties. Now, the National Democratic Alliance is a 24-party alliance," Dr Karan Singh said.
"National security is another major issue I shall be highlighting during the course of my campaign," Dr Karan Singh said. While the BJP has been making much of suraksha as part of its political agenda, the Congress has raised several security-related issues in the past - ranging from the Admiral Bhagwat issue, the Kargil episode, militancy rearing its ugly head again and the stepped up ISI activities in the various parts of the country.
Development is another major plank. There has been no major development work worth the name under any of the non-Congress Governments. Areas of gross neglect have been basic education, primary healthcare system and potable drinking water among the core issues.
Interestingly, according to a report, Prime Minister Vajpayee did not spend fully Rs 2 crore from the MPs Area Development Funds. Besides, funds under Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana, which are at his disposal, too, were not availed of by Prime Minister Vajpayee, who has thrice in a row been representing Lucknow.
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