Nitish denies rift over seat sharing in NDA in Bihar
Patna, June 11: In a bid to downplay reports of growing restlessness over seat sharing for the 2019 elections among the allies of the BJP-led NDA in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday denied any rift in the ruling alliance.
"There are no differences in the NDA... We are working together and will continue to work," said Nitish Kumar, who is president of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), here.
This is first time since the reports of growing differences among constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over seat sharing for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls surfaced that Nitish Kumar has publicly said that the NDA was united and there were no differences over seat sharing.
"Issues related to polls will be discussed at the time of polls," he said.
The Chief Minister blamed the media for creating and spreading news of differences in the ruling NDA in the state.
Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) chief and Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha last week demanded a decision on which party would contest how many seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, citing lack of coordination in the BJP-led NDA.
Soon after that the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said that it would not compromise on the seats held by it and supported the contention of Kushwaha.
Two senior JD-U leaders Pawan Verma and K.C. Tyagi claimed that Nitish Kumar would spearhead the NDA challenge next year and later other JD-U leaders said that the party would contest 25 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar as it contested in 2009 as an ally of the NDA.
The demand may spell trouble for the NDA in Bihar with regard to seat sharing, as the BJP is keen to play the "big brother" in the backdrop of its better-than-expected performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
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Women's reservation must be implemented without being made contingent on delimitation: CM
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that the Women's Reservation Bill is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation.
Terming the delimitation as the political re-engineering at the cost of southern states, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that these states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism.
The leaders' statements came a day before the Constitutional Amendment Bill with provisions on women's reservation implementation and delimitation was tabled in the Lok Sabha.
"You are right in highlighting the larger implications of the proposed delimitation approach and the concerns it raises for southern states. We wholeheartedly support the Women's Reservation Bill - it is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation," Siddaramaiah said in a post on 'X'.
He was replying to his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy's post on 'X' with a letter, urging the former to unitedly resist moves to push a pro rata model to increase Lok Sabha seats, which would be highly detrimental and inimical to the interests of southern states.
"Any exercise that reshapes political representation must be undertaken with utmost care. The Union Government must engage all states in a transparent and consultative process, and ensure that fairness, federal balance, and consensus guide this critical decision," Siddaramaiah added.
Shivakumar said that this is not a delimitation, but political re-engineering "at the cost of southern states".
"The proposal to increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 will systematically reduce the voice of the South, while rewarding unchecked population growth elsewhere. This is nothing but punishing progress and good governance," he posted on 'X'.
Clarifying that Congress fully supports women's reservation and in fact, it was party's top leader Sonia Gandhi's vision and commitment that brought this dream to the national agenda, the Deputy CM said, "We demand that it be implemented without linking it to delimitation or seat expansion."
"I urge the Union Govt to not hide behind women's empowerment to push a deely unfair political agenda. Rushing such a massive restructuring of India's democracy during elections, without transparency or consultation, is deeply suspicious and unacceptable," he said.
Asserting that India's strength lies in balance not domination, and in fairness, not manipulation, Shivakumar said, "The Southern states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism."
"We will not allow the South to be politically marginalised."
