Kerala polls: Sushma denies BJP-CPM secret pact

Kozhikode: Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday refuted the Congress charge as 'baseless' her party had not fielded a candidate against Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan in the April 13 assembly elections as part of a secret pact with the ruling CPM.

"I reject the allegation as baseless. Janata Dal (U) is our coalition partner and had wanted the seat (Mallampuzha where Achuthanandan is contesting). As a coalition dharma, we have given the seat to JDU," she said.

BJP had only floor coordination with Left in the Parliament to take up common issues such as corruption against the UPA Government, but differed on most other issues, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said at a meet-the-leader programme at the Press Club in Kozhikode.

She was responding to a question on KPCC chief Ramesh Chennithala's charge about an 'unholy' nexus between CPM and BJP at Malampuzha which he said was evident from the saffron party not fielding its candidate in Mallampuzha.

Chennithala had alleged that the nexus between CPM and BJP was continuing since the last civic polls.

On reports of a tacit alliance between CPM and Jammat-e-Islami, Sushma said 'actually it has exposed the truth. This is nothing new. It was not unexpected because this has been the approach of both the CPM and Congress'.

She accusing both the LDF and UDF of failure to promote the interests of Kerala and sought people's mandate to enable BJP play the role of an "effective opposition" in the state.

"In a democracy opposition has a great role to play. We are not asking for votes to form the government, but we want to play the role of an effective opposition in Kerala." Sushma said.

She said BJP had put forth a model of governance in states ruled by it and model of opposition where it was not in power. "In the BJP and NDA-ruled states we are taking a leap in infrastructure development, power and agriculture sectors and in implementing schemes for the welfare of the downtrodden," Sushma claimed.

Alleging that both the LDF and UDF failed to promote the interest of Kerala, she said about three million people from the state were working overseas and an equal number outside Kerala, because both the fronts had failed to generate jobs.

Kerala's potential in tourism, ayurveda and coconut plantation had not been fully tapped. The plantation sector had come to stagnation and paddy cultivation had declined steeply, she charged.