New Delhi, May 09: Congress on Saturday sought to raise
the comfort level of its allies angry over Rahul Gandhi`s
wooing of their rival parties like JD-U by declaring that
those who want to come with it have to snap ties with BJP.
Party media department chairman Janardan Dwivedi also
dismissed that the AICC has given any certificate to N Chandra
Babu Naidu`s TDP and ruled out snapping of ties with DMK and
other allies.
"Those who have to come to us will have to leave
BJP...If they are with BJP and Shiv Sena, we cannot call them
secular. We cannot call them secular unless they leave NDA,"
Dwivedi said, virtually setting the ground rules for those who
wanted to hitch their wagons to UPA.
Dwivedi`s refrain was "let the results be out. Only
then, it will be clear who is with whom. Only at that time, it
will be clear who is secular and who is not."
Playing the secular card to the hilt, the Congress
leader said those parties which are secular will indeed
support Congress in forming a government.
When pointed out that the CPI-M general secretary
Prakash Karat, spearheading the Third Front initiative, has
remarked that his party would take a decision on the issue of
support to Congress after the results are out, Dwivedi
remarked, "May God give him more good sense."
Dwivedi also cited the example of Trinamool Congress,
which had earlier aligned with NDA but chose to leave them and
contested this election in alliance with Congress and
said, "Congress believes in the change of heart."
He dismissed as a "philosophical statement" party
general secretary Digvijay Singh`s remarks that Congress was
ready to sit in the Opposition.
"We have never left any ally and we will never leave
any ally," he said giving clear signals to UPA partners that
Congress will not dump them while acquiring new friends.
Asked about party spokesman Ashwani Kumar`s statement
terming TDP, AIADMK and JD-U as secular parties, Dwivedi
pointed that TDP had done business with BJP for five years and
added, “We are not ready to give TDP a clean chit."
As regards JD-U, Dwivedi said it was part of the BJP
led NDA and on AIADMK, he made it clear that Congress would
not dump DMK, which is a known detractor of the AIADMK and
currently an ally of the Congress.
He, however, maintained, "Some times parties go to the
wrong side and we believe in the change of heart." He declined
to say anything about what President Pratibha Patil should do
after the results are out.
Bureau Report
