PM scotches rumours on mid-term polls

The Prime Minister said, “I was surprised to read reports about mid-term polls in a section of the media after coming to Kumarakom resort yesterday.

“The Government of the National Democratic Alliance enjoys a majority in the Lok Sabha. The NDA is a united entity. Attempts by the Opposition to create fissures in the ruling alliance have neither succeeded so far nor will they succeed in the future,†he said.

Vajpayee said the NDA’s unity was demonstrated once again in the recently-concluded session of Parliament and added all the constituent parties of NDA “are unswervingly committed to the common manifesto on the basis of which they sought and got the people’s mandate†at the time of elections last year.

The Prime Minister said, “As I have repeatedly stressed, there shall be no deviation whatsoever from this common national agenda. The Opposition, rather than indulging in vain speculation, should play a constructive role by cooperating with the Government in unitedly facing the challenges before the nation.â€

Vajpayee’s statement comes in the wake of comments from political parties, including the main Opposition Congress, saying the Government was toying with the idea of mid-term polls and that was why the BJP was raking up “emotive issues†like Ayodhya.