BJP allies see no merit in Sushma's views on blasts

NOT SO UNITED: Shiv Sena and JD(U) have said that Sushma's statements were not at all required.

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New Delhi: A day after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj claimed the blasts were a conspiracy by the Central Government; most National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders chose to distance themselves from her statement.

"The blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad reek of a conspiracy to divert attention from the cash for vote allegations and also to bring back the Muslim vote which the Government has lost due to the nuclear deal," Sushma had alleged on Monday.

But it's a logic that has not gone down well at all with NDA constituents.

The question topmost on everyone’s mind: Why did Sushma make the comment?

"We don't accept this charge. It's the personal view of Sushma Swaraj. I don't know what prompted her to say this," said Janata Dal (United) leader Prabhunath Singh.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, too, disagreed with the BJP leader's views.

"It should have been avoided. There were blasts in Jaipur. Was there a trust vote then?" Raut asked.

Through the day most of the BJP leaders chose to look the other way when asked if Sushma's views were reflective of the party's viewpoint.

Nationalism and internal security have been big talking points for the BJP in the recent times and the string of bombings in BJP-ruled states from Rajasthan to Karnataka to Gujarat, is making the party raise accusing fingers against the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.

The sense of discomfort within the NDA constituents has given a handle to the Congress, too, to hit out at BJP

"She expected that the nation would believe her obnoxious allegation and here every constituent of the NDA is distancing itself from her," Congress Spokesperson Manish Tiwari said.

This is not the first time that Sushma Swaraj has got herself mired in a controversy. Immediately after the 2004 General Elections she hadn't won any friends when she vowed to shave off her head in case Sonia Gandhi chose to be the prime minister of India.