Indore: Ahead of its key meeting aimed at
strengthening the opposition alliance, BJP on Tuesday skirted the
demand that the party dump Shiv Sena from the NDA on the issue
of "Mumbai for all".
"We have been saying that Mumbai belongs to the entire
nation and our viewpoint is clear," party leader Anant Kumar
said replying to a volley of questions on demand from party
general secretary Vinay Katiyar that BJP should snap ties with
Shiv Sena and whether there was need to redefine the relations
between the two parties.
"We are of a clear view that each city belongs to the
entire nation," he said, seeking to dismiss suggestions that
the party could pay dearly in the Assembly elections in Bihar
scheduled by the year-end if it failed to break ties with the
Sena.
"We are fully confident that the BJP-JD(U) combine led by
Sushil Modi-Nitish Kumar will win back Bihar Assembly polls,"
he said.
When a reporter persisted that he should be given a
definite answer in regard to ties with Shiv Sena and condemn
that party for its stand against 'Mumbai for all', Kumar said,
"what reply to give is my prerogative".
Shiv Sena has been the oldest ideological ally of BJP and
the two parties have shared power in Maharashtra and at the
Centre.
They have been at loggerheads in recent days over the
issue of Mumbai for all with the BJP making plain its
opposition to the Sena's plank that Marathi-speaking people
have the first claim over the megapolis.
Incidentally, Nitin Gadkari whose BJP Presidentship will
be ratified at the National Executive and National Council
meeting, is the first leader from Maharashtra to don the top
party post.
Replying to a question whether the BJP was not afraid of
the impact of the Rahul Gandhi factor in the Bihar polls and
later in Uttar Pradesh, he said there was no such factor as
Congress had failed to win the Assembly polls in Karnataka,
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where the young
leader had campaigned.
Anant Kumar declared that the three-day meet would sound
the bugle against the war on terrorism, price rise and the
"appeasement" policy of the government as seen in the backdrop
of the Ranganath Misra Committee report seeking reservation
for Muslims.
He said BJP's aim was to strive for the last man
(Antyodaya) through good governance and development.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 21:18