Despite persistent pleas by the Left, the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal stuck to their stand that under no circumstances would they vote along with the BJP on the cut motions against the UPA government.
BJP leaders claimed that the SP, the RJD, and earlier the Bahujan Samaj Party broke away from the grand alliance of Right and Left Opposition parties against the government due to the “misuse” of the Central Bureau of Investigation to threaten leaders of these political parties facing various charges.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said it was the failure of the Left that it could not keep the members of its 13-party alliance together, and, in any case “technically” these parties were “supporters of the UPA” as they had not withdrawn their letters of support given to the President at the time of formation of UPA-II.
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley attacked the UPA directly, saying the investigation agency had lost “all credibility” as it had allowed itself to be misused by the ruling party. “The cases against political leaders are sometimes put in cold storage, and sometimes they are speeded up depending upon political requirements,” he charged.
The National Democratic Alliance government had started investigation into the Taj corridor case against BSP chief Mayawati after her party's lack of support during a crucial confidence vote resulted in the fall of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1999.
Mr. Jaitley charged the government with “misuse” of the CBI in a number of high-profile cases: the disproportionate assets case against RJD chief Lalu Prasad; the Ajit Jogi case; the Satish Sharma petrol pump scam; cases against SP chief Mulayam Singh and Ms. Mayawati.
However, when asked about the BJP having “cozied up” to Mr. Mulayam Singh when he was Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister to get his “cooperation” on the Babri Masjid demolition case to help its veteran leader L.K. Advani, Mr. Jaitley denied the charge. He did not deny the fact that BJP leader Kesrinath Tripathi continued to be the Speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly when the SP was in power. And party leaders have themselves acknowledged there was a “perception” of the BJP's friendly relations with the SP, hence its disastrous performance in the last Uttar Pradesh Assembly election.
The NDA now comprises just three parties other than the BJP — the Janata Dal (United), the Akali Dal and the Shiv Sena. Although Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MPs were present in the Lok Sabha — and the JMM is running a coalition government with the BJP in Jharkhand — no one was sure which way they voted. In fact, an NDA leader said he was sure the JMM voted against the cut motions.
The BJP leadership is well aware that in the next big electoral battle of 2014 for the Sixteenth Lok Sabha, the party will desperately need new alliance partners.
