Dr.Subramanian Swamy's press statement on February 15, 2004.

1. The nation in general and Tamil Nadu in particular is shocked at the capitulation of Ms. Sonia Gandhi at the Anna Arivalayam when she said to the media that the Jain Commission had in its "Final Report" exonerated the DMK in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Leave aside that the question of the credibility of the Jain Commission which was widely seen by people including the D.R.Kartikeyan of the SIT as a cynical exercise to sabotage the trial court proceeding against the LTTE, and used for collateral purposes by the leaders of Congress Party close to Ms. Sonia Gandhi, the real question is why then the Congress Party under Ms. Sonia Gandhi's Presidentship had vehemently supported the BJP led Government's Parliament resolution in 1998 on the Action Taken Report on the Final Report to set up a Multidisciplinary Monitoring Agency [MDMA] to investigate Mr.Karunanidhi's role in the conspiracy. If the Final Report had no adverse inferences, why did the Congress Party bay for Mr. Karunanidhi's head in the Parliament? If the Parliament proceedings of August 2-4 of 1998 are quoted, Ms.Sonia Gandhi’s blatant capitulation will be exposed.

2. It is my charge that there is enough circumstantial evidence that Ms. Sonia Gandhi has joined the DMK alliance because she has something to cover up in the Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, and has joined it at the behest of her mother and family friend to create a LTTE friendly lobby in Tamil Nadu.

In the wireless intercept of a conversation between LTTE's Pottu Amman and Sivarasan after the assassination there was a mysterious reference to "people in high places in Delhi" who would protect LTTE from being caught in the assassination perfidy. Now it has become clear that it is Ms. Sonia Gandhi who is one of those in high places.

3. Ms.Gandhi has betrayed Tamil Nadu’s Kannagi tradition. Hence the Tamil people should wipe out the DMK led alliance in the coming polls. To facilitate this, the AIADMK must ensure that the anti-LTTE focus is not blurred by the periodic indiscretions of their electoral partner, the BJP. The BJP led Union Government has been weak during the last five years in dealing with the LTTE. There are many lapses in this regard that need to be rectified by the BJP before the election campaign gets under way.

4. The Janata Party will contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections on the promise of An Agenda for National Renaissance (draft extract enclosed). The party will field candidates to win enough seats in Parliament to be a factor in Government formation, and form the Government in Karnataka.

5. I shall be addressing IBMs Business Partners CEOs on “Leadership” on February 16th, delivering the Dr. MGR Memorial Lecture on February 24th, be a guest of the Thevar Samadhi Trust for a Poojai in Kaumudi on February 26th, give a special lecture on Vision 2020 in Loyola College on March 4th, and lecture on March 11th at Fatima College, Madurai on Mathematical Methods in social sciences.

(SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY)


Agenda for National Renaissance

Introduction

In the first Election Manifesto (1977), the Janata Party, founded by Jayaprakash Narayan, had declared: "The Janata Party is dedicated to the values and ideas of Gandhiji. It is dedicated to the task of building a democratic state in India, drawing inspiration from our rich heritage, and the noble traditions of our struggle for Independence". In other words, the Janata Party's ideology is to foster democracy in all its dimensions, economic, political, social and cultural. This has to be done by learning from our ancient history and the Freedom struggle; within the Gandhian framework.

This Party was ushered to power on the strength of the youth (who constitute over seventy percent of the electorate). However, this mandate of the youth was soon betrayed through splits and defections. The Janata Party has bled through the 1980s, but it is still alive even if emaciated. The mission of the Party, given to it by JP, is still unaccomplished and yet relevant.

In 1977, the nation's democratic structure was under seige and the nation in crisis. Today, in 2004, the nation is on he throes of a deep identity crisis and ideological bankruptcy. At the cross roads of history today, the future of our country is crucially dependent on making the right choice on the direction for the country. While the Freedom Struggle had given the people a clear identity and the underpinning of its ideology, the last three decades have thrown up forces which now seriously threaten our national integrity, and have sown doubts in the people's mind about the nations's future.

The ruling political parties of today have in fact failed so far to formulate a modern concept of identity and relevant ideology. The continued inability of these political parties to formulate an acceptable concept of identity and ideology is dangerous for our democracy. No wonder, our people are confused about the future, and the youth led astray. If this continues, the ensuing disorder may threaten the collapse of the Indian Union, which, in the Soviet Union and elsewhere, had become a reality. But still no political party today is thinking in these futuristic terms. The Congress Party of today cannot provide the frame work for our identity and ideology because the Party itself is suffering from a crisis of identity and ideology. There is a wide gap between the policy and practice in the Congress Party. With the collapse of Communist rule in the erstwhile Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the ideology of the Communists stand discredited. Communism is a failed ideology that has become consigned to the dust bin of history.

The RSS of which the BJP is a front organization. Talk of Hindu Rastra, has essentially a negative outlook. The Party has defined India's identity and ideology in purely anti-Muslim terms, and not in positive renaissance terms. Every Hindu concept formulated by the BJP has a predominently anti-Muslim content. It thus believes in a zero-sum society. That is, Hindus can gain only if the Muslims lose. In practice, the party is anti-Christian and anti-Sikh as well. There is nothing of a Renaissance in their view of Hindu Rastra. It does not envisage, as the Janata Party does, disbanding the caste system or enforcing the equality of sexes, or abolition of taboos and superstitions. In fact Hindu fundamentalist want to fossilize the inequalities accumulated over the ages in Hindu tradition. Furthermore, a united India is impossible if we leave out Muslims, Sikhs and Christians of the population in our reckoning of the nation. But this is precisely what they is doing, much the same way that the Hindu Mahasabha did before Partition. Fanaticism divided India in 1947. It can do so once again and therefore patriots should join together not to allow it.

Drawing on this inspiration of Jayaprakash Narayan, with adherence to the moral edicts of Mahatma Gandhi, the 'darshan' of Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo, the poetry of Iqbal and Subramania Bharathi, the patriotic fervour of Bankim Chatterjee, the courage and conviction of Mahatma Phule and Dr. Ambedkar for social reform it is essential to rebuild the Janata Party once again dedicated to a virile concept of national identity, and a nationalist ideology embodied in an implementable Agenda. This is the Janata Party's Agenda for National Renaissance, representing the ideological framework of the Party.

All that a Renaissance will ensure is that a national consciousness is fused in the minds of the people to identify with the nation and make them rise above religion, caste, language and regional prejudices. As a consequence of this consciousness, we shall be able to adopt a moral code for character building. For this to come about, we shall have to adopt an Agenda to follow systematically in action.

The terms of this Agenda have to be chosen in a manner which can have national support of secular elements, and yet usher in a Renaissance. The Janata Party will mobilize the youth for implementing this Agenda.
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