NDA allies have no veto power on PM candidate: BJP

Ahmedabad: Asserting that NDA allies have no veto power on BJP`s choice of prime ministerial candidate, party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said even Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had acknowledged in the past that the nominee would be from the saffron party.

"BJP is part of NDA and we respect all our allies. But one thing is clear that the prime ministerial candidate will be of BJP and none of our allies has a veto power on this matter," Prasad told a press conference. The party`s renewed aggression came in the backdrop of Congress` bid to cut down Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi after the recently-held Karnataka Assembly elections. Responding to a query on the strident opposition from Kumar to Modi`s projection as the Prime Ministerial candidate, Prasad said, "Nitish Kumar too said publicly in the past that PM candidate will be from BJP." The Deputy Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha evaded direct reply to a query if Modi will be BJP`s prime ministerial candidate for 2014 elections. "Modiji is one of our most respected and popular leaders. Our Parliamentary Board will discuss and decide that issue. Unlike Congress, we are not a family-run party," he said. Prasad was here to announce the party`s nationwide agitation from May 27-June 2 against the UPA`s corruption. "During the UPA rule, there were major 12-13 big scams. Congress and UPA-led Central government is the most corrupt government since Independence," he alleged. Continuing his party`s attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Prasad said the principal opposition party wanted Singh`s resignation over the lack of "accountability". PTI