Author: PTI
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: May 5, 2009
http://www.dailypioneer.com/174095/Overtures-to-Nitish-Naidu-show-Cong-has-accepted-defeat-BJP.html
BJP today said the overtures made by Congress
general secretary Rahul Gandhi to TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)
leader Nitish Kumar showed that his party has accepted defeat in Andhra Pradesh
and Bihar.
"You don't have to read between the lines
to come to the conclusion that Rahul Gandhi has conceded defeat in Bihar and
Andhra Pradesh. He has tried to reach out to Nitish Kumar and Naidu to make
up for the complete rout of his party in these two states," BJP spokesperson
Balbir Punj told PTI.
During his press conference earlier in the
day, Gandhi had praised Naidu and Kumar, saying, "I respect Naidu. He
has done a good job...May be he focused on Hyderabad. I am not saying (only
we have leaders). There are leaders who are in the opposition. Nitish for
example... "
Another BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy
said Gandhi's statement "vindicates BJP stand that UPA will emerge as
a political debris post-elections, scavenging for survival".
Punj accused Congress of poaching NDA partners
after the "complete disintegration of UPA and the frustration and desperation
of Congress on the possible results of the on-going Lok Sabha elections."
The BJP MP also said the case against Bofors
scam accused Ottavio Quottrocchi was not dead. "If it was a dead issue,
where was the need for them to withdraw the Red Corner Notice at the cost
of such huge political embarrassment at the time of Lok Sabha elections?"
he said.
Reacting to comments by Gandhi, senior leader
Arun Jaitley said the overtures made by the Congress General secretary shows
the frustration of the party.
"I think as the election draws nearer,
the Congress frustration is becoming higher. The UPA has disintegrated and
now for Congress to start hallucinating, that the Left will support us and
start praising TDP and Nitish Kumar, I think is a meaningless exercise,"
he said.
Jaitley said Nitish Kumar has repeatedly said
he is a "political opponent of the Congress" and that he is an integral
part of the NDA.
"The Congress created a situation where
they pamper the Gandhi family and every word they say is considered as the
gospel truth. Others outside the Congress do not respect this. Merely because
an complement is made, the opposition does not turn an ally," Jaitley
added.
