May 25, 2000

Moderater: Welcome to ITGO CHAT. Your opportunity to chat live and exclusively with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Judging from the tremendous response from our chat participants it will certainly be a thought provoking, enjoyable and memorable event. Welcome to the chat Mr. Prime Minister.

A B Vajpayee: I welcome you all to e-parliament. There are so many questions, I may not be able to answer all of them. I hope you will not mind. Shall we begin.

Prabhu Chawla: Mr. PM, since the Parliament session is over and there are so many vacancies in the cabinet, do you intend to expand the cabinet and fill these vacancies and induct new faces?

A B Vajpayee: Yes, I am thinking of reshuffling the cabinet. Vacancies will be filled, some new faces will also be there. This weekend is the schedule for the reshuffle. It may involve reshuffle of existing departments. All parties may not be involved or affected. It may involve some economic ministries as well.

Partheeban: In my view the wide spread corruption is India's number one problem, which halts development in every single area including education and population control. What is the action plan from your side to considerably bring it down?

A B Vajpayee: We are committed to fight corruption at all levels, whether it is political corruption, or economic corruption. There can be no compromise with corruption. Experience shows us that wherever there is a delay in the decision making process or unlimited discretion in decision-making powers, there is corruption. Therefore, we have been focusing on cutting back delays in the decision making as well as implementing processes.

There has also been right-sizing of government, coupled with economic reforms that minimizes government interference. With these steps, we hope to fight economic corruption effectively. We will also introduce a right to information law that will bring greater transparency in the functioning of government.

If you or anybody comes across any case of corruption, then please write to the Anti-Corruption cell in the Prime Minister's Office which has been effectively dealing with such complaints. You are also welcome to send me direct messages through the mailbox in the official website of the PMO: pmindia.nic.in

Santosh Bajpai: PM Sir, How does your poet heart cope up with dirty politics?

A B Vajpayee: My poet heart gives me strength to face political problems particularly those which are related to my conscience. I have not written a single poem after I became Prime Minister. I'm going to Manali next week. The heights of the Himalayas may inspire me. One poem written in Manali is in my collection.

K V Sridharan: When can we find a permanent solution to the Kashimr issue and have cordial relationship with Pakistan?

A B Vajpayee: We want peace in Pakistan. That is why I visited Lahore in 1999. We took the initiative of starting a dialogue. Subsequently, you know what happened in Kargil.

Peaceful relations with our western neighbors depends on Pakistan. Their inherent hostility towards India must end. There is this feeling in the Pakistani establishment that it will benefit from being anti-India. This must end. The people of India want peace. So do the people of Pakistan. But the ruling elite of Pakistan hardly wants peace. Disguising terrorism as Jehad is unacceptable.

We are prepared for talks. After all we restarted the talks in 1999. But for resumption of dialogue, Pakistan must create the appropriate climate for meaningful talks. Pakistan must put an end to cross-border terrorism, honour bilateral agreements like the Shimla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration, and maintain the sanctity of the Line of Control.

Raju: Thanks to India Today for giving me an opportunity to ask Mr Prime minister Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee a question. Sir, refer to all the crises which we had to face in the last few years, Kargil, the AI hijack and now the drought. In all these crisis we failed to anticipate these happenings. Is it not right that the development of any nation, company or even a single individual depends on how well they anticipate the future and be prepared for the same. If yes, what are we doing for our nation in this regard.

K V Sridharan: What are you planning to do to improve the
a) per capita income of the individuals,
b) outstanding world class infrastructure and
c) educate people to use their judgment to elect the right people in future? When do you think India can be one of the top five or six economy in the world?

A B Vajpayee: The macro fundamentals of the economy are sound. We have ended the year with nearly six percent GDP growth coupled with modest inflation, low current account deficit, a manufacturing sector growing at 11 percent and agriculture showing positive signs. Our stable fundamentals augurs well for our sustained and diversified growth as among the world's fastest growing economies.

Ramesh Babu: What steps has the Indian government taken to unleash the promise of IT to benefit India and the world at large?

A B Vajpayee: We expect India to be a major IT power. We have the attitude and the skills which enable us to achieve this. A new Telecom Act 2000 will be introduced based on the principles of technological convergence. We will also take measures to resolve all pending problems of basic and cellular operators. Tele-density will be significantly improved. We will also create conditions for high band-width connectivity for realizing this objective.

Sushil Nema: How you are going to eliminate poverty?

A B Vajpayee: To achieve a sustained high economic growth and more than that to ensure that the fruits of development percolate to all layers of the society, development with distributive justice continues to be a high priority for us. We want to ensure a well over 7 percent GDP growth to wipe out poverty, disease and illiteracy. To be eradicated in the shortest possible time. Economic reforms will enable our latent energies to be fully realized. India would play and occupy its rightful place in the global development process.

Jayachandran: Mr. Prime Minister, our salutations to your government for earning India the respect she deserved amongst the international community, for the first time since independence. Do you think that India would become a permanent member of the UN security council in due course?

A B Vajpayee: India has a legitimate right to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. India is gaining support on this front.

Avinash: Sir, why is the government not pushing ahead with the Sankhya Vahini Project? India has a very good chance to leap frog into the future, why are you not trying for its speedy implementation?

A B Vajpayee: A lot has been written about the Sankhya Vahini project. We took this decision after a great deal of deliberation and with the approval of the cabinet. Some misgivings were expressed. The communications minister fully explained the position of government to both houses of parliament. If any fresh points are raised we will consider them and act in the best interests of the country.

Noel Rodrigues: Sir, what is your opinion about certain leaders from Tamil Nadu, who are also members of the NDA, openly saying that they would like to see the formation of Eelam?

A B Vajpayee: There are people who will welcome the formation of Eelam through peaceful means and negotiations. As far as the NDA is concerned, our stand is clear. We wish to see a political settlement of the ethnic problem within the framework of the unity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka, which will also address the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka.

Sothi Panjalingam: Dear Prime Minister, How can India mediate between the Sri Lanka government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) while India is extending a ban on the LTTE?

A B Vajpayee: As I have already mentioned, we favor an early settlement of the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka. We would like to see a solution which will preserve the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka while addressing the legitimate aspirations of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. We would like to see an early end to the fighting and the resumption of dialogue between the parties concerned. We are in touch with the government in Sri Lanka and hope that they will move forward on a political package despite the current fighting. There can be no military solution to this problem.

Prabhu Chawla: Are you now ready to sign the CTBT and live in peace forever?

A B Vajpayee: As I have stated before, we need to evolve a national consensus on the question of our adherence or otherwise to CTBT. We have been consulting the political parties and we will continue this process. The rejection of CTBT by the US Senate is a complicating factor. Having conducted the nuclear tests in May 1998, we declared a moratorium on further testing. We will continue to observe this moratorium, because we are assured by our scientists that we do not need any more tests in order to build a credible deterrent. In essence, therefore we are already observing the main feature of CTBT.

Kiranmayi: Does handing over the dreaded terrorists in Kandahar episode not give the militants an impression of lenient India?

A B Vajpayee: I don't think so.

Prav: What is the deadline in your terms for the promises you made during the election? One such commitment was availability of drinking water for all the citizens.

A B Vajpayee: This commitment will be kept in five years.

Seth Muthaian: Hi! Who do you think is good enough in your party to lead the nation after you?

A B Vajpayee: Whoever the party chooses.

Yeshwant: What steps is your government taking to make itself more accessible and transparent to the common man? Are you thinking in terms of passing a Right To Information Bill, so that the common man remains informed of all the government actions?

A B Vajpayee: The Right to Information Bill is ready and it will be introduced in Parliament during the coming monsoon session.

Ayub Khan: Dear Vajpayee Ji, I hope you are doing well now after the recent bout of illness. Now for the question: What is your current stand on the Babri Masjid issue. Are you going to allow VHP, Bajrang Dal and other associates to go ahead with the temple construction?

A B Vajpayee: The case is in the courts. The law will decide the issue.

Hritik Goel: If you were the President of USA and Mr Bill Clinton would be the Prime Minister of India and suppose Pakistan would attack India, would you too help him how he helped you ? I request you to give reasons so that I, a student of class-VI can understand.

A B Vajpayee: Yes, certainly I would help him.

Dinesh Kumar: Is health so low a priority that India does not deserve a cabinet rank Health & Family Welfare Minister?

A B Vajpayee: A ministry does not suffer because of the rank of its minister. In any case, as far as the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is concerned, I am thinking of upgrading this ministry.

Puli J Reddy: Why do not you include compulsory military training of 1 year as a basic qualification for all the employed? This will induce discipline in the students and provide them necessary skills to face real life.

A B Vajpayee: It is a good idea. However I do not think that it should be compulsory. Also, there is no need to make it military training, we can expand the NCC for this purpose.

Mr Ejilan Ratna: Mr Prime Minister when will you bring about the common civil code?

A B Vajpayee: The directive principles of the Constitution of India desires a common civil code. However, this can be achieved only when there is agreement across communities.

Hari Rao: Why have the Lok Ayukta and Women's Bill still not been introduced?

A B Vajpayee: The Lok Pal Bill and the Women's Reservation Bill have already been introduced in Parliament. Hopefully, both of them will be passed soon.

Vinod Sinha: Sir, with the present growth in population of India, it is almost impossible to solve the basic problems like unemployment, pollution etc. We have very limited land, almost one third of China. With such limited resources, we can never improve the condition of our nation no matter how efficient our economic policies are. Why don't you take a strong step like China took to control the population?

A B Vajpayee: We are concerned about the runaway population growth of India. Population needs to be stabilized for sustainable development. Bearing this in mind, we have adopted a national population policy and recently set up a national population commission. We hope to see results in the first decade of the new century.

Amrita Budhwar: Asiaweek magazine has recently named you as the ideal person to lead Asia. What would be your dream Cabinet as the Prime Minister of Asia?

A B Vajpayee: While I thank Asiaweek, I think what is more important than a dream cabinet, is a cabinet that works. I would rather head a cabinet that works and delivers on its promises.

A B Vajpayee: Friends, thank you very much for joining me for this evening's online chat. I am overwhelmed by the large number of questions. I hope we can meet again over the net.