Loose alliance or lose alliance?
Congress, which continued to taunt the Samajwadi Party on ‘good secular behaviour,’ has invented a new term to describe its relationship with Mulayam Singh Yadav’s party - ‘a loose alliance.’
By Urmi A Goswami, ET Bureau |
NEW DELHI: Congress, which continued to taunt the Samajwadi Party on ���good secular behaviour,��� has invented a new term to describe its relationship with Mulayam Singh Yadav���s party ��� ���a loose alliance.���
���We don���t agree with Mulayam Singh���s views on people like Kalyan Singh even though we are in a loose alliance with the party. Both have their own views on different matters,��� said Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
This ���loose alliance��� formulation comes on the back of the failure of the two sides to thrash out a seat-sharing agreement in Uttar Pradesh. On its part, SP is against a ���loose alliance��� and has already ruled out ���friendly fights��� between the two parties. ���Either it���s a full-scale alliance or an all-out contest between the two sides. Our offer not to field SP nominees in Rae Bareli and Amethi will stay, but we will have our candidates in all other 78 seats,��� said SP general secretary Amar Singh. The two sides, which were expected to meet before the January 29 meeting of CWC, were yet to decide on the date for the resumption of negotiations.
Congress leaders, who maintained that the SP has fallen several notches on the secular index after its association with Ayodhya hero Kalyan Singh, said Mr Mulayam Singh���s party may have to pay a price for its latest acquisition. ���We will be unaffected. People know what we stand for. But the SP may have to pay a political price,��� said an AICC functionary.
The SP retaliated by saying that this argument was puerile. ���The Congress, which is a marginal force, still has extravagant beliefs,��� said a SP leader. Mr Amar Singh had countered this stand of the Congress by wondering whether only Congress leaders have the Midas touch to make someone secular.
���The Congress ranks in Maharashtra have former Shiv Sainiks like Narayan Rane and Sanjay Nirupam. Shankarsinh Vaghela, who was associated with the RSS for decades, is a Union minister. What is good for the geese, should be good for the gander. But Congress obviously doesn���t think so,��� said Mr Amar Singh. The SP has already made it clear that Kalyan Singh will be one of its chief campaigners in Uttar Pradesh.
���We don���t agree with Mulayam Singh���s views on people like Kalyan Singh even though we are in a loose alliance with the party. Both have their own views on different matters,��� said Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
This ���loose alliance��� formulation comes on the back of the failure of the two sides to thrash out a seat-sharing agreement in Uttar Pradesh. On its part, SP is against a ���loose alliance��� and has already ruled out ���friendly fights��� between the two parties. ���Either it���s a full-scale alliance or an all-out contest between the two sides. Our offer not to field SP nominees in Rae Bareli and Amethi will stay, but we will have our candidates in all other 78 seats,��� said SP general secretary Amar Singh. The two sides, which were expected to meet before the January 29 meeting of CWC, were yet to decide on the date for the resumption of negotiations.
Congress leaders, who maintained that the SP has fallen several notches on the secular index after its association with Ayodhya hero Kalyan Singh, said Mr Mulayam Singh���s party may have to pay a price for its latest acquisition. ���We will be unaffected. People know what we stand for. But the SP may have to pay a political price,��� said an AICC functionary.
The SP retaliated by saying that this argument was puerile. ���The Congress, which is a marginal force, still has extravagant beliefs,��� said a SP leader. Mr Amar Singh had countered this stand of the Congress by wondering whether only Congress leaders have the Midas touch to make someone secular.
���The Congress ranks in Maharashtra have former Shiv Sainiks like Narayan Rane and Sanjay Nirupam. Shankarsinh Vaghela, who was associated with the RSS for decades, is a Union minister. What is good for the geese, should be good for the gander. But Congress obviously doesn���t think so,��� said Mr Amar Singh. The SP has already made it clear that Kalyan Singh will be one of its chief campaigners in Uttar Pradesh.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
