: With the ruling NDA dispensation in Bihar heading for a split, the BJP today said it would chart out its course of action as soon as the JD(U) made an official announcement on the fate of the alliance.
“We are keenly monitoring developments in the JD(U) which is hell bent on walking out of the NDA,” the state unit BJP chief Mangal Pandey told PTI after emerging from the over three-hour long strategic meeting with senior party leaders and BJP ministers at the Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi’s official residence.
“The Bihar BJP under guidance of the central leadership will react suitably and announce its course of action immediately after hearing from the Chief Minister and the JD(U) national president Sharad Yadav about their decision on the alliance between the two parties,” he said.
Pandey said that the BJP was closely monitoring all developments taking place in the JD(U) and would sit together again to chart out its future course of action immediately after the JD(U) leaders’ make an announcement at 3 pm.
On the possibility of the BJP ministers submitting their resignations to pre-empt the Chief Minister’s likely move to recommend their sacking from the government, the Bihar BJP chief said that no decision had been made in this regard as yet and “we would like the JD(U) to go ahead with whatsoever decision on the fate of the alliance.”
Meanwhile, another senior BJP leader and its national Vice President C.P Thakur said that the BJP ministers may submit their resignations to the Deputy Chief Minister for handing over the same to the Chief Minister to terminate the alliance between the JD(U) and BJP.
“The resignation letters are being drafted by the BJP ministers,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the BJP upped its ante against JD(U) for its decision to split from the NDA as its eleven ministers boycotted the emergency cabinet meeting convened by the Chief Minister at his official residence and termed the exercise as ’unnecessary’ and ‘meaningless’ when the latter had firmed up decision to part ways with the NDA.
“What is the need for convening the cabinet meeting by the Chief Minister all indications suggest that the JD(U) has decided to split with the BJP-led NDA?” the Bihar unit BJP president Mangal Pandey asked.
Apparently resigned to the eventuality of the JD(U) announcing its decision to part ways with the NDA, Pandey mounted frontal attack on the Chief Minister for keeping mum on his party leaders spewing venom against the BJP and publicly talking about split even before a formal decision could be taken.
A JD(U) national spokesperson has already spoken about the coming apart of the alliance between the two allies and a senior minister said that only a funeral procession needed to be taken out to bury the 17 year-long alliance, the Bihar BJP chief said.
He regretted that Kumar has never stopped his leaders and ministers against carrying out such offensive acts against the alliance partner.
Stating that the JD(U) leaders’ diatribe against the BJP has all but signalled that the alliance was over, Pandey said that the BJP will nonetheless await official announcement from the JD(U) leadership and take appropriate steps only after that.