NDA may get chance to form next govt: Advani

Patna, Oct 12 (PTI) Senior BJP, the main opposition party
in India, leader L K Advani on Wednesday said there was all
possibility of the National Democratic Alliance(NDA) getting a
chance to form the next government at the Centre, but remained
non-committal on whether he was still in the race for prime
ministership.
High on the initial response received by his Jan Chetna
Yatra in the eastern Indian State of Bihar after support from
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Advani, on the second day of his
yatra, said going by the present conditions in the country,
the United Progressive Alliance(UPA) government is
unlikely to complete its term.
"Even though elections are not so near, the way this UPA
government is running, there is a concern that elections could
happen before time. There is all possibility that the NDA will
get a chance to form the next government," he told
mediapersons here.
On the issue of prime ministership, Advani remained
elusive and continued with the suspense on whether he is in
the race or not.
"At present, the elections are not so near. The party
will decide as to who will be its prime ministerial candidate
when the elections come," he said when asked on the issue,
clarifying that even in 2009 elections he had not declared his
candidature for prime ministership.
"There is a possibility of early polls under the present
situation because of corruption and black money," he said.
On a specific question on whether he was willing to be
the PM candidate if the party agrees on it, Advani refused to
reply saying, "I have already said what I wanted."
He was replying to a volley of questions on whether he
was still in the race for the Indian Prime Minister's post on
the second day of his rath yatra which began at Sitabdiara in
Saran district, the birth place of late Jayaprakash Narayan,
on Tuesday.
Advani said people were imputing motives now on the
purpose of his yatra. "It is not possible for people to
imagine that someone can take out a nation-wide yatra on the
issue of corruption."
Raising the issue of black money, Advani asked the
government to come out with the steps taken so far by it to
get back the black money of Indians stashed away in various
tax havens abroad.
He said according the Global Financial Integrity Report,
an international think tank in America, from 1948 to 2008
India had lost a total of USD 213 billion in illicit financial
flows.
The present value of India's total illicit financial
flows is at least USD 462 billion or approximately Rs
23,10,000 crore, he said.
Advani claimed that estimates given by Swiss banks
themselves put it at USD 1.4 trillion with India topping the
list, followed by Russia, UK and then China.
Even though he cannot vouch for this figure, Advani said,
a book entitled "Capitalism's Achilles Heel: Dirty Money and
How to Renew the Free-Market System" by Raymond W Baker has
estimated Indian money stashed away in foreign banks at USD
1.4 trillion.
The former deputy prime minister's yatra was greeted by
local people in stretches along the 80-km route from Chhapra
to Patna on Tuesday. He passed through the constituencies of
Rashtruya Janta Dal(RJD) leader Lalu Prasad and Lok Janshakti
Party(LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan.
"This is the best response I received in all my six
yatras," he said.
The senior BJP leader also denied having any rift with
Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, and said, "He (Modi) has
himself praised my yatra on his blog." PTI ADS
SAR