NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE

Resolution adopted at the meeting on 15.11.2004, presided over by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee,
former Prime Minister and Chairman, NDA

1. We, the leaders of the constituent parties of the National Democratic Alliance, meeting in New Delhi on November 15, 2004 have resolved to further strengthen the NDA. We hold that the NDA is as relevant, and its unity as important, now as during the six-year period when our alliance provided the first stable and successful coalition government in the history of independent India. It is our shared belief that the NDA is the only and the true alternative to the contradictions-ridden Congress-Communist combine, which is set to take the nation on a ruinous path. All the constituent parties of the NDA dedicate themselves to expose this regime.

2. An equal priority is to emancipate Bihar from the corrupt and anti-people RJD-Congress rule, which is now a glaring example of absence of order in society, total erosion of law in governance and violation of all norms. We call upon all anti-RJD forces in the state to unite give effect to the people's keen desire for a change in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

3. The UPA government has little to show for its achievements in the first six months of its existence. The steep rise in the prices of all essential commodities is proof of the betrayal of its promise to safeguard the interests of the common man. Inflation, which the NDA government had succeeded in keeping at a record low, has more than doubled. Interest rates are rising. The rate of growth of GDP has been considerably scaled down from the 8% and more achieved during the last year of the NDA government. The government has failed to take effective measures to ameliorate the plight of kisans and to boost employment opportunities for the youth. There is also a visible slowdown in the implementation of various infrastructure projects initiated by the NDA government.

4. The NDA notes with deep concern the steady deterioration of internal security in the country. While we welcome moves to carry forward the process initiated by the NDA government to normalise relations with Pakistan, the recent statements by the Prime Minister and the External Affairs Minister on the Jammu & Kashmir issue are at variance with the national consensus, as articulated in the resolution passed by all the political parties unanimously in Parliament.

5. The NDA is committed to strengthening the Constitutional ideal of secularism as expounded by Mahatma Gandhi and other Indian seers, both ancient and modern, and as practiced in the Indian civilisation for centuries. This is based on the idea of 'Sarva Panth Samaadar' (Equal respect for all faiths), a non-theocratic state that does not discriminate on the grounds of religion, and the equality of all citizens of the country irrespective of their faith, caste, creed or sex.

6. The NDA believes that an early and amicable resolution of the Ayodhya issue will promote national integration and strengthen India socially as no other issue can. We continue to hold that the judiciary's verdict in this matter must be accepted by all. At the same time, considering the delays inherent in our judicial processes, the NDA prefers a negotiated settlement through dialogue between representatives of the Hindu and Muslim communities in an atmosphere of communal peace, mutual trust and goodwill. We urge that efforts towards a serious and meaningful dialogue must be intensified. We call upon the government take necessary steps in this direction. The solution to the Ayodhya issue, as well as the process of reaching it, should be such that it meets the aspirations of the majority community, the concerns of the minority community and the interests of national unity, integrity and communal harmony.