Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will, on Thursday, release the National Democratic Alliance's election manifesto and the most important item in it will be directed at Congress president Sonia Gandhi: a proposal to bring in a legislation to ban people of foreign origin from holding top offices in the country.
"The foreign origin issue is very much on the NDA agenda," and NDA leader said in New Delhi on Saturday. "We are addressing it so that a suitable legislation could be introduced in Parliament after the new government assumes office under the leadership of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee."
The man behind the document's preparation is Defence Minister George Fernandes
In the last few weeks, when he was not on election-related tours across the country, Fernandes, who is also Janata Dal (United) president and NDA convenor, was quietly working on the manifesto, which will list the government's achievements and spell out the NDA's priorities if it is voted back to power.
In 1999, the NDA's manifesto was called 'An Agenda for a Proud and Prosperous India and for Good Governance'.
This time the manifesto will be named, 'National Agenda for Development, Good Governance and Peace'.
It was Vajpayee who chose the title, according to BJP leaders.
The 1999 manifesto called the general election then as "an unnecessary imposition". "It is thrust upon the country by a motley combination that put political negativism, narrow personal interests and greed for power far above the national good", it said.
This time, the manifesto will begin by rolling out the government's development initiatives.
Fernandes's official residence in New Delhi -- 3, Krishna Menon Marg -- is a beehive of activity as he meets top BJP and NDA leaders.
NDA chairman Vajpayee has given valuable inputs to the manifesto, especially on the development front.
Three top BJP leaders -- Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and party general secretaries Pramod Mahajan and Arun Jaitley -- have helped Fernandes, who has fine-tuned the manifesto.
Fernandes has also had the onerous task of consulting the 20-odd political partners to finalise the manifesto.
The draft has been prepared after consultations with two crucial NDA allies: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
Naidu's Telugu Desam Party and Jayalalithaa's All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam are the two largest NDA constituents, after the BJP.
Since the manifesto will mention contentious issues like Ayodhya, common civil code and abrogation of Article 370, Fernandes has taken care to ensure that it does not lead to opposition from within the conglomerate.
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