BJP-Sena rift widens despite 'apology'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG 7. A letter of ``apology'' written by the Shiv Sena MP, Mr. Sanjay Nirupam, to the Prime Minister has failed to narrow the widening rift between the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally in Maharashtra. For even before the ink on the letter had dried, the Sena chief, Mr. Balasaheb Thackeray, let it be known in Mumbai that he was ready to see the 15-year-old alliance break, if it came to that.

Senior BJP leaders freely admit that there is no certainty about the direction the relationship is taking. It will not be a surprise if the ``temperamental'' Sena chief makes ``any announcement'', senior party leaders said.

Allegations remain

What has irked the BJP leadership is that even in the so-called letter of apology, Mr. Nirupam expressed regret only for causing ``hurt'' to the Prime Minister. Far from taking back the allegations he had made against the Prime Minister's Office during the debate in the Rajya Sabha on the Unit Trust of India scandal, the letter dated August 6 said: ``In my statement (during the debate in the House), I had mentioned the telephone number of an official of the PMO from which telephone calls had been made to the former chairman of UTI. My question was related to only one issue, was this conversation connected in any way to the Cyberspace-UTI scandal, and I had demanded a probe into this aspect.'' His letter goes on to add that in fact the Prime Minister himself announced a probe into this in the House and ``for this I am grateful''.

And if he had hurt the Prime Minister's sentiments by asking this question, which appeared to be so since he had offered to resign after his speech on UTI in the Rajya Sabha, he offered an ``unconditional apology.'' Perhaps to make it crystal clear that the apology letter was not his own idea, he added a footnote in his own hand at the bottom of the letter to say that he had been directed by the Sena chief to send him the letter.

But as BJP leaders made it clear, the question was not one of allegations by Mr. Nirupam or an apology - the party spokesperson, Mr. Vijay Kumar Malhotra, said the BJP had not demanded an apology and it was now for the National Democratic Alliance to consider the entire issue, including the apology letter - it was related to the Sena's desire to remain in government and reserve the right to criticise as if it was part of the Opposition.

The crux of the problem between the two parties was the Sena's desire to topple the Congress-led Government in Maharashtra and the BJP's view that this was neither possible nor feasible, a senior party leaders said.

It has also been made clear that now no backroom talks are taking place to mend the relationship. In fact, it seems that the leaders of the two parties are hardly on talking terms. The BJP made its viewpoint clear: It will not make the first move to break ties with the Sena. The NDA has never pushed out anyone from the alliance. It is for the Sena to think and act.

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