A day after West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said that her party “could move a no-confidence motion against the UPA-2 government on the floor of the Lok Sabha if need be”, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Murli Manohar Joshi said that it was pointless to bring the motion in Parliament against the United Progressive Alliance government without being sure of the numbers.
“First of all, we have not received any official communiqué from the Trinamul Congress regarding this issue. So the question of whether we will support it or not doesn’t arise right now,” Dr Joshi said during his one-day visit to Kolkata on Tuesday.
Stating that Ms Banerjee does not have the numbers to defeat the ruling alliance in the Lok Sabha, Dr Joshi added, “She should be sure of the numerical calculations, unless there is adequate numbers, the UPA-2 cannot be toppled. If you don’t have the numbers and the government survives, then it makes no sense.”
The veteran BJP leader, however, said that the “UPA has lost the mandate to run the government”.
“Government’s argument that FDI in multi-brand retail is going to help farmers is ridiculous. It is complete travesty of facts,” he said. When asked about the participation of NDA convenor and JD-U leader Sharad Yadav at Ms Banerjee’s rally at Jantar Mantar on Monday, the BJP MP clearly stated: “I do not believe in political untouchability. It was a protest against FDI. So anybody who is against it can go. Even when a Bharat bandh was called, you have seen that Sitaram Yechury of CPI(M) along with BJP leaders were protesting FDI.”
Asked whether NDA at this juncture would look forward for an alliance with the Trinamul Congress, Dr Joshi said: “The doors of BJP are open for everybody. So if Mamata Di wants to join hands with the BJP, then its Ok.”