BJP planning total revamp says Naidu

BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu yesterday said his party would function as a "responsible opposition" in and outside the Parliament. He wished good luck to the Manmohan Singh government and hoped it would manage the affairs of the nation.

The BJP chief said his party would soon undertake a complete revamping of the organisation and senior leaders were being consulted in this regard. "We have to form a national executive and appoint office-bearers. We will be shortly reconstituting both these bodies," Naidu told reporters at the airport here before leaving for Hyderabad.

Pointing out that some party seniors, hitherto busy as ministers in the NDA government, were now available for organisational work, Naidu said: "I must utilise their talent. There will be adequate representation for all the states."

Declining to comment on the new government, since it had been just formed and deserved some time to settle down, Naidu said: "We will watch and perform our responsibility as a constructive and active Opposition."

However, the BJP chief said "too many" politicians who had not won in the Lok Sabha polls were inducted in the Cabinet. "Too many politicians who were rejected have been selected. Let us see what is going to happen."

Asked if the dependence on Communists placed a question mark on the stability of the United Progressive Alliance Government, Naidu replied: "No comments for the moment. Let the common minimum programme be drafted and the government start functioning. We will comment later."

Meanwhile India's former junior minister for defence O. Rajagopal said in Thiruvananthapuram, that the performance of the NDA in Kerala in recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, gave the party some hope about its prospects in the state.

He told reporters here that eight per cent reduction in the share of votes for the ruling alliance in the state and the four per cent increase in NDA's share was a pointer to the future.

Rajagopal said the BJP state committee on Saturday evaluated the NDA performance in the polls. The meeting considered as 'significant', the victory of NDA candidate P C Thomas, in a three-cornered fight in Muvattupuzha.

© The Asian Age