Jaswant: Left, SP greedy for power

BY KAUSHIK PRADHAN

Kolkata

July 6: Senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh on Sunday criticised both the Left parties and the Samajwadi Party, saying that they had no principle but only greed for power. Commenting on the Samajwadi Party’s claim that it had decided to back the UPA government on the Indo-US nuclear issue only to keep the BJP at bay, he said: "The CPI(M) and other Left parties had offered exactly this reason to justify their support to the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre."

BJP president Rajnath Singh described the Congress-SP proximity as an "unholy alliance".

Meanwhile, echoing BJP leader L.K. Advani, Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said that the UPA government should immediately convene a Lok Sabha session and seek a vote of confidence. "The Left parties are trying to fool the people. They have been exposed now," she added. Mr Jaswant Singh said, "The current political situation in New Delhi is totally in a mess. They (read SP and Left) have made our parliamentary democratic system a mockery." However, he also believed that the Left was not blackmailing the government. It was confused.