Cong picks on PM remark

The Congress today said that Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee’s saying that he is ‘‘tired’’ of coalition governments takes the wind out of the BJP campaign of running a ‘‘stable coalition’’ for five years. Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said, ‘‘First, the Prime Minister said that his successor has already been selected by the party. Then he says that he is tired of coalition governments.’’ ‘‘Is he tired because the NDA Government ran the last five years through blackmail and bargaining?’’ he asked.

‘‘When the BJP is seeking a mandate in his name for the next five years, to say that his successor has been identified is actually duping the voters,’’ Sharma said. ‘‘The voters deserve to know who is Vajpayee’s successor,’’ he added.

Meanwhile, the BJP promptly moved to try to undo the damage caused to its coalition thesis. Party spokesperson Arun Jaitley declared that the BJP will form a coalition government even if the party gets a majority on its own.

When asked about the PM’s statement on coalition, Jaitley said: ‘‘Irrespective of the number of seats BJP gets, NDA is here to stay.’’