NDA partners seek coordination panel

NEW DELHI: Parties in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Sunday sought a committee for better coordination among the coalition partners, a demand that came against the backdrop of the severing of ties between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena.

In his introductory remarks at the NDA meeting, not attended by the Sena, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said NDA allies may have different ideologies but they are like one big family and should not get unsettled by small differences. Modi also asked NDA lawmakers to ensure good attendance in the House.

Newly appointed Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Chirag Paswan, speaking to reporters after the meeting, said, “We have requested Prime Minister to form an NDA (National Democratic Alliance) Coordination Committee or appoint an NDA convener for better coordination between alliance partners.”

“I personally felt the absence of Shiv Sena in the meeting today, it was one of the oldest allies of NDA. It’s a matter of concern that the Telugu Desam Party left the alliance first and then the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party,” he said.

The meeting came a day before the start of the winter session of Parliament on Monday. The session will continue till December 13.

The meeting, also attended by Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP’S working president JP Nadda, was called for better floor management and coordination during the winter session.

Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena fell out with the BJP over sharing of chief minister’s post after the two allies won a comfortable majority in last month’s assembly polls in Maharashtra.

The lone Sena MP in the union cabinet, Arvind Sawant, quit as a minister on November 11 after accusing the BJP of not honouring its power-sharing promises in Maharashtra.