By IANS,
New Delhi : The Congress party Friday asked Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad and Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) president Ram Vilas Paswan to apologise to the “secular forces” for breaking a “secular coalition” before the Lok Sabha polls.
“Laluji and Paswanji should apologise to the secular forces for breaking a secular coalition just before the Lok Sabha elections,” Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad told reporters.
He was replying to a question regarding the two leaders’ remarks that they had made a mistake by quitting the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
The two leaders were senior ministers in the UPA government during 2004-09, but chose not to have seat adjustment with the Congress in Bihar and Uttar Oradesh.
In Bihar, the RJD won only four seats, down from 24 that it won in 2004. The LJP could not even open its account. Both former ministers also lost.
Soon after the poll results were out May 16, Lalu Prasad said that parting ways with the Congress was his biggest mistake.
On the issue of a possibililty of a poll alliance with the two for the Bihar assembly elections next year, Ahmad said: “For such a decision we have to take the state Congress unit into confidence first and currently it is not in favour of any such alliance.”