PM attacks NDA, 3rd Front; says angry allies can be won over

Ludhiana, May 11: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday launched a scathing attack on the NDA and Third Front, saying while the former is a fractured alliance the latter has collapsed even before polls.

Addressing a press conference here along with Congress candidate Manish Tewari, Dr Singh said divisions within the BJP-led NDA would become clear after the Lok Sabha poll results are out. He added that the BJD and TDP have already left the Opposition alliance.

Commenting on the Third Front, the PM said the alliance had collapsed even before it could take off.

Sounding confident, Dr Singh said the Congress would "at worst" emerge as the single largest party after the General Elections.

"At worst, the Congress will emerge as the single largest party," he told reporters, adding there was no question of backing the Left if it wanted to take power.

The Congress will get more seats so there is no question of supporting the Left, he stated.

Indicating that the Congress was not worried about the faltering United Progressive Alliance, the PM said that he was confident of winning over angry allies.

“The UPA will form the next government… politics is the art of possible,” Dr Singh remarked.

"I always believe that all secular forces have an obligation to work together to give the country a purposeful, secular government," Dr Singh said when asked specifically about whether he would appeal to the Left to again support a UPA government.

To a question whether the Indo-US civil nuclear deal could be a sticky issue on forging ties with the Left, he said, "I think it is not an issue now. It has been signed, sealed and operationalised. It cannot be an issue for dialogue.

"There is a wider purpose to give the country a purposeful, secular government for which all secular forces should vote together," he said.

In response to a question, Dr Singh said that it would be desirable if the number of political parties in the country were fewer. But he hastened to add that he did not want to imply that he was against regional parties, saying, "Regional parties are a reality."

Taking on JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, the PM said that the Bihar Chief Minister "professes" to be secular but there are doubts about that after he shared a dais with his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi at an election rally here on Sunday.

"There is no doubt Nitish Kumar professes to be a secular leader," the PM said. However, "a doubt arose" after he saw the two leaders share a platform, he added.

He further said that the speech given by Modi in Ludhiana was a glimpse of the BJP if it came to power at the Centre.

“You heard Narendra Modi's tone at the NDA rally yesterday. It indicates the kind of government they want to have. This must be avoided at all cost," the PM told the press conference.

“I firmly believe that religion should not enter politics,” he added.

The PM also criticised Nitish for making “false” claims of not receiving any help from the Centre, saying it was the Bihar government which was at fault.

Commenting on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Dr Singh said the issue cannot be kept alive for ever.

He further pointed out that his Congress-led government had increased compensation paid to victims of the riots that followed the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The PM charged that "some people want to keep the issue alive apne dukaan chamkane ke liye (for their selfish interests)". He held that this was of "no profit to either the country or the Sikh community".