The BJP’s much vaunted commitment to the “coalition dharma” sounded hollow last week, when it pulled the rug from under the Samata Party in Manipur. The aftershocks of the BJP’s “betrayal” are being felt within the nda, fostering suspicion and uneasiness among the alliance partners. Even as staunch and unswerving an ally as the Telegu Desam was moved to criticise the bjp. Party spokesperson Yerran Naidu observed: “Where a bigger party (BJP) is supporting the government of an ally (Samata), it should be more careful. It should look after the interests of the ally.”
The Samata Party, which bore the brunt of the “betrayal”, made no bones about its sense of hurt. Spokesperson Jaya Jaitly said: “We have often been given long lectures on coalition dharma by the bjp. And we ourselves have been giving such lectures to others. So, it hurts when the bjp itself pulls down our government.” From the very beginning, the bjp had refused to cooperate with Manipur chief minister Radhabinod Koijam and has been plotting his downfall, she adds.