Jaitley slams ‘opportunistic’ Oppn alliances

NEW DELHI: Opposition parties coalescing to form a front against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came in for criticism from BJP leader Arun Jaitley, who reiterated this coming together of different parties was an attempt to form a “fictional alternative”.

Using Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy’s recent public break down as a case in point, Jaitley said the developments in the state are a repeat of what the Congress did to Chaudhary Charan Singh, Chandrasekhar, HD Deve Gowda and IK Gujral.

In a blog post shared on Monday, Jaitley referred to the CM’s statement indicating trouble in the JDS-Congress coalition government. “If this is the consequence of a two-party coalition, what is it that a disparate group of parties with no ideological similarity offer to India?” he asked.

“It is the obvious consequence of a non-ideological opportunistic alliance with no positive agenda. The basis of the negative agenda is ‘Keep Modi Out’.”

Quoting his earlier post on a joint front, Jaitley said BJP has had an opportunity to share power and these parties frequently change positions.

Drawing a comparison between the “decisive leadership” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kumaraswamy he said, the PM and his government have to overcome the challenges that India faces and cannot be seen like the Karnataka CM as a “tragedy king.”

“If such a coalition is a cup of poison, why even dream of inflicting it on the nation? The leader of the world’s fastest growing economy cannot be a ‘Bechara’ (helpless),” he said.

Responding to the blog, Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said, “When Mr Jaitley expresses concern on future of Karnataka coalition and gives sermons on how to run coalition, it’s like devil quoting from the scriptures especially after how BJP ate the cream in Kashmir and dumped PDP when the Valley desperately needed political will to end terrorism.”

Balveer Arora, professor emeritus and chairman, Centre for Multilevel Federalism, Institute of Social Sciences, said it is incorrect to surmise that coalition governments are not good.

“The assertion that coalitions are bad for the country is without any factual foundation. What is important is to have a government that listens and has a dialogue with the Opposition, and those qualities are present in most coalitions.”