The Lok Sabha was yesterday witness to the strange spectacle of a Left MP praising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and certifying that the party had not tried to bribe legislators in the Bihar assembly.
Ramashray Prasad Singh of the CPI created a flutter in the House by his remarks while speaking on the BJP-sponsored motion on the Bihar situation.
Stating that there was an urgent need to save Bihar, an emotionally-charged Singh said there was nothing wrong if one supported the BJP on this since the party has also been saying the same.
BJP ko ek hauwa bana diya hai (You all have made a bogey out of the BJP), he told members of the Rashtriya Janata Dal who interrupted him often.
What will you do when the BJP comes and sits here (in the ruling benches), Singh asked.
His references to the BJP drew applause from the BJP side, while some United Front MPs wanted Singh to cross over and join the BJP ranks.
Leader of the opposition Atal Behari Vajpayee was seeing enjoying the predicament of the Front members.
Speaking strongly against former chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, Singh, however, said Yadav was a lesser evil than the Congress. After all, Yadav had allegedly bribed JMM legislators after the Congress had shown the way by bribing JMM MPs when P V Narasimha Rao was the prime minister.
He said there was no kharidnewala (buyer of legislators) from the BJP side during the recent turmoil in the state assembly. He also claimed that a Tata-Sumo vehicle was part of the gratification Yadav had extended to the 16 JMM legislators in exchange for support in the House.
The Congress, he felt, was responsible for all the ills facing the country.
Until the Congress is there, there could be no solution to any problem facing the country, he declared, and chided the partys claim that it had all along fought communal forces.
You (Laloo Yadav) came to power on the promise of fighting dynasty rule symbolised by the Congress. Now you have yourself installed your wife in office, Singh remarked.
