JOIN USTop Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Sunday termed the exit of Janata Dal-United (JD-U) from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) “sad and unfortunate.”
BJP president Rajnath Singh said that the decision would weaken the fight against the Congress. Party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, however, said: “This is not the end of the world. More allies will come to the NDA.”
Reacting to the end of 18-year-old alliance, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said on Twitter: “The break-up of the NDA is sad and unfortunate.”
Speaking at a programme organised by the youth wing of the BJP here, Singh said: “We always treated the JD-U as a younger brother and our relationship of 17 years was not a political but an emotional one. It was never made under pressure.”
Trust and understanding
“When a coalition is formed, it is based on trust and mutual understanding. When that goes, it is really sad. We can be betrayed but we will never betray,” he said while justifying the party’s decision to appoint Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as head of the Election Campaign Committee for the 2014 elections.
Singh said if Modi was being considered communal because of the 2002 post-Godhra riots, there have been thousands of riots in 24 years of Congress rule since Independence.
Singh pointed out that in 2000, BJP was a bigger party than the JD-U in Bihar as it had 60 seats while the JD-U won only “36/37 seats”. But still, BJP chose a JD-U leader to become the chief minister, he added.
No going back
Naqvi, on his part, maintained the party could not backtrack from its decision on Modi. He said the JD-U should understand that Modi is the rising star.
“The writing is on the wall. People will not forgive those who do not see it,” Naqvi said.