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Gujarat minister slams BJP's
alliance with Samata

A Gujarat minister has described Bharatiya Janata Party's alliance with the Samata Party to retain power in a civic body as a "politically suicidal" move.

Rural Development and Jails Minister Jaspal Singh criticised the state BJP leadership for deciding to stay in power in the Vadodara Municipal Corporation with the help of Samata Party councillors, whom he described as "dubious characters."

The BJP has 35 councillors in the house of 78 and the Congress has 34. The Samata Party has three members and the rest are independents, two of whom support the BJP-Samata alliance.

Singh represents Vadodara in the state assembly.

The BJP and the Samata, though part of the National Democratic Alliance that rules at the Centre, fought the last civic elections in Gujarat in September-October 2000 as bitter foes.

However, to keep the Congress out of power, the BJP agreed to Samata Party's proposal that its nominee be made mayor and the other two councillors be made members of the VMC Standing Committee.

Singh, in a letter to Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and state BJP president Rajendrasinh Rana, dubbed the alliance as "unholy, politically suicidal and a marriage of convenience."

He said for the ruling party's own good, "the VMC board should be dissolved and an administrator appointed pending fresh elections."

Singh alleged that the Samata Party councillors had criminal backgrounds and in the past had instigated communal violence in Vadodara. "With this kind of an unholy alliance the image of the BJP has suffered a knocking in the last six months," he said.

The minister said sincere and honest BJP workers were agitated about their party remaining in power in the company of "dubious characters."

If the alliance were allowed to continue, the BJP would be wiped out from Vadodara city in the next assembly elections, due in about 18 months, he warned.

Indo-Asian News Service

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