BJP aligning with Kanda shows their hunger for power: Congress

The Congress on Friday slammed the BJP for being in talks with independent MLA Gopal Kanda to form government in Haryana saying it shows their "double standards" and hunger for power.

Speaking to reporters here outside Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi's residence, party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "you should look at the statements made by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah at a time when Gopal Kanda was a Minister in the state."

Surjewala said that the Congress had forced Kanda to resign after the registration of a case against him.

"We also removed him from the ministership. But what was the stance of BJP then? And what's the kind of double speak the BJP is doing today. This shows their level of hunger for power," he said.

Surjewala said that in Haryana the BJP has been decisively rejected by the people. "Those who said that they will get 75+ mandate has not even touched the majority mark," he said.

Surjewala's remarks came a day after Kanda on Thursday arrived in Delhi and announced his support to the BJP. The BJP has won 40 seats in the 90 member assembly while the Congress won 31.

The Jannayak Janata Party won 10 seats while seven independent candidates won in the election held on October 21.

Surjewala said that the BJP has no right to form a government in the state.

"Defections are again coming to play with allurement of opposition members in government with money and power for the government formation in Haryana," Surjewala said.

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who steered the party to a good show in the elections has appealed to all the independent candidates and the other parties to form an anti-BJP government in the state as the majority is against the saffron party.

Hooda has been camping in Delhi since Thursday night and according to party sources, he is negotiating with the independent MLAs as well as the JJP leaders to stitch a deal to form government in the state.

To a question that several Congress leaders lost by a very thin majority in the elections, the Congress leader said, "extremely slander margin of 300, 400, 500 and 1,000 votes was there and we all knew how money and muscle power was misused to suitably help the certain candidates as recounting was used to defeat four to five Congress candidates."

"But whatever they do, democracy prevails and democracy has spoken and BJP has not been given mandate to rule. Any government the BJP forms will be an illegitimate and illegal government," he said.

The BJP is trying to forge an alliance with the JJP and other independent MLAs in the state after it fell five seats short of the majority.

Discussing the meeting of senior party leaders with Sonia Gandhi, Surjewala said, "the discussion centred around the interest of farmers, shopkeepers and industries that are bartered away and sold openly by the current ruling dispensation the BJP."

He said the party will make a comprehensive statement at 3.30 p.m. IANS