Congress: BJP should dissolve NDA
The BJP has made the NDA irrelevant by not involving its allies in the first anniversary celebration programmes of the Modi government. Now, it should dissolve the NDA, said the main Opposition Congress.
While the Shiv Sena, which has 18 members in the Lok Sabha and the oldest ideological ally of the BJP till the Maharashtra Assembly polls held in 2014, has been kept out of the first anniversary celebrations, another senior ally — the Shiromani Akali Dal ( four members) — too found no place in the celebrations. Besides the TDP ( 16), the Lok Janashakhti Party ( 6) and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party ( 3) remained irrelevant. Interestingly, all these parties are sharing power with the BJP at the Centre while the Apna Dal ( 2), Swabhimani Paksha ( 1) and the RPI ( Athawale), which has one member in the Rajya Sabha, are also part of the BJP- led NDA.
Drawing attention to the growing marginalisation of the regional parties in the NDA, Congress spokesperson Meem Afzal on Tuesday asked why can’t the BJP dissolve the NDA and declare the Modi government as the BJP government.
The BJP came to power on its own in the current Lok Sabha but continued the NDA experiment because it had fought the battle in an alliance with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, SAD in Punjab, TDP in AP, LJP in Bihar and Apna Dal in UP.
Its social engineering experiment in Maharashtra by allying with the five parties — Shiv Sena, RPI( A), Swabhimani Paksha, Rashtrya Samaj Paksha and Shiv Sangram Party — had worked excellently well, winning 42 of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats, the pre- poll alliance with the Ram Vilas Paswan- led party in Bihar and the TDP in Andhra Pradesh had checked the JD (U)-RJD and the Congress in these states. Mr Afzal reminded how the BJP ruled the country through a coalition route under the leadership of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee for six years. The Congress had not only kept its allies in the UPA in good humour but used to invite supporting parties on such occassions in which Manmohan Singh presented annual report of his government’s performance.