After the Bharat Ratna to Chaudhary Charan Singh, RLD’s cadre and workers want us to tie up with the NDA, RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary has told News18, making clear his intention to join hands with the BJP.
“We have discussed our issues with the BJP and several rounds of discussions have taken place. Especially after Bharat Ratna, our cadre and our workers want us to go with the NDA,” Jayant told News18. He said political decisions are taken based on ideology, issues, and political realities.
“You try to contest elections, win elections, become a part of government so that you can do good for your people. RLD is interested in fighting elections, winning elections and we will stand by our issues,” Jayant Chaudhary told News18.
On Friday, he had said that the BJP had “won his heart” by giving Bharat Ratna to Chaudhary Charan Singh, over 37 years after his death.
“My father, the late Ajit Singh, would have been so happy if the Congress had given my grandfather a Bharat Ratna; it was Ajit Singh’s dream,” Jayant said when asked why the Congress did not recognise Chaudhary Charan Singh with a Bharat Ratna.
Jayant was interrupted while speaking in Parliament on Saturday, with some from the Opposition benches gesturing to him to move to the BJP side in Parliament while speaking on the Bharat Ratna issue.
Some Congress leaders have also alleged a deal between BJP and Jayant over this. Jayant told News18 that he felt insulted. “The anger and vitriol shown by them was unwarranted. By doing what they did today, they have sent a message to everyone in India in every village that if the government wants to honour your legacy, someone from within your political class gets riled up.”
“If I was giving a political speech on some election campaign, I would perhaps still accept such behaviour. I was simply speaking in Parliament about Chaudhary Charan Singh’s legacy and his immense contribution and how after 37 years of his death, he has been recognised for the first time,” Jayant told News18.
He said the Bharat Ratna would help him institutionalise the legacy of his grandfather, carry it forward and generations to come would have that curiosity to learn about him.
“A Bharat Ratna for him is a win for everyone across the political spectrum and all should be happy. Which is why it is beyond my comprehension why some of my esteemed colleagues in the Opposition, with whom I have been sitting during my duration in the Rajya Sabha, would get so worried and worked up,” Jayant Chaudhary told News18.
He said he wanted to impress upon Opposition leaders that Chaudhary Charan Singh does not belong just to him but to them as well and he is everyone’s legacy.
Sources say Jayant Chaudhary is set to formally announce his entry into the NDA on February 12, the birth anniversary of Ajit Singh. RLD could get two Lok Sabha seats from the BJP and a Rajya Sabha berth, sources say.
Jayant Chaudhary said no deal had ever been finalised with the Samajwadi Party. Ram Gopal Yadav of SP told News18 that no one can stop Jayant if he wants to go to the BJP, but insisted that SP would not be affected by this in west UP.
BJP MP from Baghpat, Satyapal Singh, who defeated Jayant in 2019 told News18 that he welcomes the decision of his leadership to include RLD in the NDA alliance in UP.
Comments
0 comment