Vajpayee urges consensus, assures strong economy

“The politics of negativism and untouchability has run its course. Our mad race to pull each other down by fair means and foul has sullied the image of India in the eyes of the world. It has spread fear and caste and communal divisiveness in society.”

“I sincerely feel that we, as a nation, must give up this harmful path of confrontation,” he said, adding India was an ancient civilisation built on consensus and persuasion and not mere tolerance. Vajpayee said India had been built on an active and deep respect for the faiths and practices of all and hisgovernment was unequivocally committed to this concept of secularism. Vajpayee said at the dawn of new century, the first imperative was to restore the credibility of public life and institutions making them reliable and independent pillars of state.

Committing his government to speedy economic liberalisation, he said the new coalition would free the economy from all growth-hindering bureaucratic and governmental controls. He also unveiled a five point programme to double food production and make India hunger-free in ten years and strive hard to make the country a global information technology power.

Elaborating the action plan, Vajpayee said the government was determined to double food production within 10 years, formulate a national water policy, make the country a global information technology power and ensure rapid expansion and improvement of social and physical infrastructures.