Chapter 47 : The NDA Years (1998-2004)

The NDA Years (1998-2004)

NDA Government: First Stint (March 1998-October 1999)

• Formation: Following the 1998 elections, the BJP joined with regional parties to form the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee (BJP) was sworn in as prime minister for the second time in March 1998 and proved his majority in the Lok Sabha.
• Fall of the Government (April 1999):
• The AIADMK withdrew from the NDA.
• The government lost a dramatic no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on April 17, 1999, by a single vote.
• Cause: The loss is generally attributed to the vote of Giridhar Gamang (who had been chief minister of Orissa for a couple of months but had not yet resigned from the Lok Sabha, making him technically still an MP).
• Aftermath:
• The Opposition failed to form an alternative government.
• President K.R. Narayanan dissolved the Lok Sabha.
• Fresh elections were held in September-October 1999, with Vajpayee remaining as caretaker prime minister.
• Congress Split: Sharad Pawar and other leaders left the Congress when the party chose Sonia Gandhi as its head.

Pokhran II: Operation Shakti

• Date: May 1998.
• Location: Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range.
• The Tests: A series of five nuclear explosions involving a regular fission device, fusion devices, and a 'sub-kiloton' device.
• Code-name: 'Operation Shakti'.
• Declaration: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee convened a press conference to declare India a full-fledged nuclear state.
• Key Scientists Involved:
• A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (a future President of India): Scientific adviser to the prime minister and head of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• R. Chidambaram: Director of the Department of Atomic Energy.
• Commemoration: May 11 is celebrated as National Technology Day.
• International Reaction:
• The world (especially the US) was shocked due to the utmost secrecy of the tests.
• Indo-US relations plunged to an all-time low.
• The US implemented the Glenn Amendment for the first time and imposed newer sanctions.
• The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in June condemning the Indian and Pakistani tests.
• Pakistan's Response: Conducted its own nuclear tests, code-named 'Chagai I and…