In Haryana, INLD snaps ties with NDA

The National Democratic Alliance on Monday suffered a setback in Haryana when its key ally snapped ties and firmly ruled out any reconsideration.

Blaming the Bharatiya Janata Party, which heads the NDA, for not observing the 'dharma' of coalition politics, ruling Indian National Lok Dal leader and Chief Minister O P Chautala told reporters in Gurgaon that his party would go it alone in the coming Lok Sabha elections. The two parties had made a clean sweep in Haryana in the last Lok Sabha elections winning five seats each.

According to a state government release, Chautala blamed the BJP leadership's 'negative attitude' for the break up of ties. He made it clear that his party could not even think of entering into an alliance with the Congress because of ideological differences.

"Our party has always been opposing Congress policies and shall continue to do so in future," he said.

Chautala accused the Centre of doing little to ameliorate the problems faced by the people of Haryana and BJP MPs and MLAs of attacking the state government on every front.

He described both the BJP and Congress as being anti-farmer and said the BJP would soon come to know its 'worth' in the state.

The snapping of ties comes a day after BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu had said at a rally in Guhana that he had 'noted that the INLD and BJP units in the state want to fight elections alone. We will not hurt the sentiments of the local people'.

The Haryana unit of the BJP has been strongly pitching for snapping ties with the INLD accusing the latter of not maintaining good relations.