Couldn't go with 'communal' BJP: SP, RJD

Playing the secular card like Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janta Dal on Tuesday helped the United Progressive Alliance government in comfortably shaking off the Opposition challenge of cut motions.

After leading the walkout of their 25 members, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad told mediapersons that they came out of the House ahead of the cut motions as they did not want to vote along with 'communal' BJP.

The walkout took place minutes before the cut motions were put to vote and hours after BSP supremo Mayawati announced in Lucknow that her party would vote for the government for the sake of secularism.

Giving similar reasons, RJD chief Lalu Prasad wondered, "How can we go with the BJP?"

"We can never go with the communal BJP. What face we will show to people if we go along with BJP? What we will say in reply when people ask why we went with the party? We were never with BJP nor we will ever," he said.

Prasad also said that BJP and Left brought the cut motion on Tuesday only for the sake of formality.

Yadav said they would fight the Congress in streets, as the government cannot be changed in Parliament and assembly but through mass movement.

Both the leaders at the same time maintained that they have no objection in supporting any such motion if the Left brought it.

BJP accused the government of using CBI as a 'Damocles' sword' against vulnerable opposition leaders ahead of the cut motions, a charge also levelled by Sharad Yadav of the JD-U.

"Events of the last few days have once again proved that the UPA and the Congress are misusing CBI as a political instrument for their own survival," Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said.

Both Prasad and Yadav, however, vehemently denied the charge. Asked what was the deal after which they helped the government, both the leaders said the deal actually happened between Congress and BJP over IPL.

Prasad also accused BJP of 'collusion' with Congress on the IPL issue and attacked senior party leader L K Advani saying the latter announced that the issue was over when IPL controversy was at its peak.

He said the Opposition unity was possible on the issue of IPL but 'it backed out later.' Prasad, whose party along with SP had strongly opposed the Women's Reservation Bill recalled that Left, BJP and Congress had joined together on the issue 'because they do not care for minorities and backward classes.'

He said BJP is not serious on the issue of price rise and 'it is a party which will rather bring price rise.'

"This party cannot fight for people's issues in the sun. BJP President Nitin Gadkari had fainted during his party's rally against price rise recently in Delhi," Prasad said.

Attacking the Left for bringing cut motions today, Prasad said it was earlier decided that the group of 13 parties will hold agitation against price rise today 'but some parties want to do only formalities through cut motions.'

Mulayam Singh Yadav said the day-long strike called by the 13 non-NDA and non-UPA parties against price rise, was a 'huge success right from West Bengal, to Bihar and UP.'

He said with essential commodities and medicines becoming dearer, there was a need to launch an agitation on the road against the UPA government's failure to curb price rise.