COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Conspirators have won, says BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party today described the defeat of the Vajpayee government on the floor of the Lok Sabha as a ''temporary success of the conspirators.''

The outcome of the confidence vote ''demonstrably establishes'' that in the ''shameless pursuit of power, the Congress and left can betray the people. Once again they have hijacked the mandate of the people,'' party spokesman M Venkaiah Naidu said.

He said, ''The left and the Congress, assisted by self-seeking individuals masquerading as party, conspired to subvert the mandate of 1998.'' He described it as the ''worst kind of opportunism.'

Naidu said he was sure that this combination would stand exposed soon. ''Those who defeated the government today cannot form a viable government that can function,'' he said.

Today's voting had established that the democratic and secularist forces were fully behind Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the alliance remained intact.

Naidu criticised the Bahujan Samaj Party for backing out from its statement in the house earlier that it would remain neutral. The BJP would like to know what had happened between last night and this morning. He said the AIADMK, which betrayed the alliance and the BSP were responsible for the success of the ''conspirators'' and owned a clarification to the people.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report