I was saying that I have my own doubts about accepting Janata Party, as one party. Though there is a wishful thinking going on both inside the House and outside the House that a two-party system is emerging. If it emerges I will be very happy about it. For the last 3-4 days, when the regular business of the House started, I have attended the House for the major part of the day, and I have tried to discern and absorb the speeches made on the other side. I was trying to understand what the Janata Party has got for the people. I know the Members and I know who is a Socialist, who is a Marxist, who is a Swatantra and who is a Jan Sanghi and who is a Cong. (o) man. We know them all. We know their respected leaders and their views and their presentation and we anticipated what they would try to do. But I was trying to know that this strange animal Janata Party is like.
When I am trying to give you description, please don’t get angry about it. Certainly you have exaggerated many things. You have showered abuses on my party and the previous Government. Naturally you should be prepared to listen something from this side as well. As a ruling party, I would advise that you should learn to absorb more of this type of things because you have to stay there. Is it not? If you want to stay there, then accept such things.
I was trying to say that we know their respected leaders. We know them all. Now, what exactly, the Janata Party can give? What exactly is Janata party’s special programme? Yesterday, Shri Kanwar Lal Gupta, who is not present here went as a Jana sangh candidate, he never got more than 1 per cent of the Muslim Votes but this time when he went as janata candidate, he got 91 per cent of the Muslim Votes.’
..... I was saying that this party is nothing more than a vote-catching device. I can say that in politics there is nothing wrong in adopting vote-catching devices. Let me make it very clear. It is a very legitimate thing to do. But then say, that is so.
Hon. Member Shri. Karpoori Thakur this morning gave statistics as to what percentage of votes his Party got and what the Congress got. I would certainly like to tell him that this type of percentage-collection of different types of parties together, without any common approach excepting the opposition to the Congress and exploitation of unfortunate situation of the emergency, will not help them. The emergency, will not help them. The emergency was an unfortunate situation. They have expressed their views and I have expressed my views about emergency and I would like to tell my countrymen and my party members that emergency is not a part of the tradition or ideology of the Congress. Congress has stood for democracy, for individual liberty and individual freedom. At the same time Congress has stood for social justice, economic equality and socialism.
Shri Madhu Limaye : I take it, it was an aberration of yours.
Shri Y B. Chavan : If you call it aberration, well, I will not take objection.
Shri Madhu Limaye : Thank you.
Shri. Y B. Chavan : But this is not part of our Congress tradition; this is not part of our Congress ideology. It arose because of certain unusual events which prevailed before the introduction of emergency some of the parties have made their contribution to it also. Let me ask you to take note of that also. We drifted into that situation of emergency. It is good that it is over. We have said goodbye to it and good-bye for good, good-bye to it for ever. So I would like to make this point perfectly clear. As I said, we have learnt a lesson, You also have learnt a lesson, don’t’ take people for granted; comforting oneself and throwing election results at our faces in the manner in which it is being done is taking people too much for granted.