By IANS,
New Delhi : The Congress Tuesday said it was feeling hurt by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad’s desertion from its camp in Bihar — all over seat-sharing.
“I do not find any explanation why Lalu Prasad could not accommodate six seats to the Congress out of 40 (in the state). Three we won (in 2004) and if we won three-four more…,” Congress leader and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told NDTV.
“I cannot use the word betrayed but I will use the word hurt,” he said in an interview.
“We couldn’t understand why Lalu would break an alliance of over six seats. He has been with UPA (United Progressive Alliance) from the beginning; so the desertion was all the more surprising,” said Mukherjee.
Mukherjee stressed that among all the allies who have left the Congress, the desertion by Lalu Prasad and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan came as a shock.
The RJD and LJP have announced a pre-poll alliance in Bihar after their seat-sharing talks with the Congress failed.
But the RJD and LJP maintain that they are still part of the Congress-led UPA despite their indepenent alliance in Bihar.