Can’t have our support and dine BSP too: SP frowns on Cong, Left

The Congress’ efforts to have the entire Opposition rallying behind it has hit a roadblock — the Samajwadi Party has refused to do any business with a formation which includes the BSP. The SP is, in fact, cross with not just the Congress, but also its comrade-in-arms, the CPI(M). The reason being their attempt to co-opt the BSP on the Opposition bandwagon by making a beginning yesterday which saw BSP Parliamentary Party leader Rashid Alvi attending a meeting convened by CPI(M)’s Somnath Chatterjee for floor-coordination.

Enraged, SP general secretary Amar Singh said: ‘‘It is for the Congress and the CPI-M to decide with whom they want to do business…We don’t want to have any truck with those parties and leaders who actively campaigned for Modi during Gujarat Assembly polls.’’ The allusion was to Mayawati’s campaign in favour of the BJP in Gujarat.

As for any issue-based coordination with Opposition parties, he said the SP did not need to go to Somnath or Sonia Gandhi’s chamber for the purpose. ‘‘We are competent enough to defend our secular credentials,’’ he said.

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When reminded that his party colleague Ramji Lal Suman too had attended the meeting, Singh snapped: ‘‘We were not aware of it. But in future, we will not participate in any meeting if the BSP is invited to it.’’ On the Babri Masjid case charge-sheet, he said the state government had erred by letting a lawyer appointed by the Mayawati government to continue. ‘‘He committed this misdeed.’’

On the Babri affidavit, he said: ‘‘The Congress and the CPI(M) attacked us saying we are L.K. Advani’s friends. There cannot be a bigger abuse for us than this.’’ He said the CPI(M)’s stance would have ‘‘far-reaching and serious consequences’’.