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Thursday, Oct 14, 2004

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National

Left has lost credibility: BJP

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, OCT. 13. The Bharatiya Janata Party today questioned the "credibility" of the Left parties, pointing out that while they had been flexing their muscles, even threatening to not only "bark but also bite," they have now stated that they are "satisfied" with the UPA Government's performance.

"The country must stop taking statements from Left leaders seriously," the party general secretary, Arun Jaitley, said today. "Clearly they do not mean what they say."

The Left had attacked the Government for its handling of the North-east situation, it had questioned the presence of "foreign consultants" on Planning Commission committees and had expressed serious differences on the issue of foreign direct investment caps in the telecom and other sectors. What had happened recently to make them "satisfied?"

Mr. Jaitley recalled that the Communist Party of India general secretary, A.B. Bardhan, had warned that his party should not be taken for granted and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Politburo member, Sitaram Yechury, had threatened that his party would not only "bark but also bite." "It now seems that all their threats and statements were not credible," Mr. Jaitley said, adding, in response to a question, that the BJP was "not disappointed" that the Left was no longer keen on "biting" the Government but was "delighted" that it had lost its credibility.

On polling in Maharashtra, the party spokesperson, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said that reports received by its State unit suggested that "voting has been encouraging and favourable" to the BJP-Shiv Sena combine.

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