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New PM must be elected on the floor of Lok Sabha: Naidu

Shireen in Hyderabad

Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has said the new prime minister should be elected on the floor of the Lok Sabha to resolve the present crisis plaguing the nation.

Speaking to the media on Friday night after two rounds of discussions with the TDP members of Parliament and politburo members, Naidu said that he spoke to President K R Narayanan over phone after Congress president Sonia Gandhi's visit to the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

"I requested the President to direct the Speaker (Ganti Mohana Chandra Balayogi) to reconvene the Lok Sabha which has been adjourned sine die and facilitate the election of the new prime minister on the floor of the House. Various parties can propose candidates of their choice and whosoever gets a majority of the votes would become the prime minister. The whole exercise can be completed in a couple of days. This will solve the political crisis gripping the country," Naidu said.

Asked whether such a proposal can be implemented without amending the Constitution, the TDP chief parried the question and claimed that "the President, who has set several precedents so far, can set a new precedent".

He said that the person who comes to power through the election would not have to prove his or her majority. "It can be a minority government too," he said. "It will be more stable than a coalition government with its internal contradictions," he added.

He said that he spoke to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and leaders of various political parties and discussed the idea with them. He also invited a public debate on the issue.

He said that the TDP was ready to face a snap poll. However, elections are not desirable at this juncture.

Blaming the Congress for pulling down the Vajpayee government and plunging the country into a political and economic crisis, Naidu said that Sonia was unable to put together a workable proposal for the formation of an alternative government.

The Congress is resorting to horse trading, he alleged and predicted that a Congress-led government would not survive for long.

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