Mumbai, Jan 19: Emphasising that foreign origin of Sonia Gandhi was not a "dead issue", BJP national general secretary Pramod Mahajan today ridiculed her efforts to form a secular alliance to provide an alternative to ruling NDA.
Claiming that he does not have any personal animosity against the Congress president, Mahajan in hard-hitting words said, "Acquiring Sonia surname through marriage does not allow any one to become a ruler of one billion population."
"The idea of her (Sonia) becoming prime minister hurts my national pride," Mahajan told reporters here.
Asserting that no country on this planet has accepted a foreigner through a vote, the BJP leader said barring communists and Laloo Prasad Yadav's RJD, all political parties and even a section of congress are opposed to Sonia becoming the prime minister.
On Sonia’s efforts to cobble an alliance of secular parties, Mahajan said, "It (the proposed coalition) cannot be an alternative for NDA."
On their plank of "secular front", he said: "they are flogging a dead issue" and claimed that it lacks a leader and programme.
On DMK, MDMK and PMK--which recently opted out from the NDA, Mahajan said, "All these parties had signed NDA's 1999 manifesto, which had opposed any person of foreign origin becoming the prime minister of the country."
Mahajan claimed that these parties have "temporarily" left NDA and said those accepting Atal Bihari Vajpayee's leadership and NDA's programme can join anytime.
Bureau Report
