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The Telugu Desam Party's decision, on whether to continue supporting the NDA at the Centre, will not have any impact on national politics, Telecommunications and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan told rediff.com.
The TDP is against the BJP's decision to retain Narendra Modi as Gujarat chief minister and go in for early assembly elections.
"We were left with no option where Gujarat is concerned. The pressure for Modi's resignation forced us to consider early polls," Mahajan said.
When asked why the BJP has adopted an aggressive policy on Gujarat putting the stability of its central government at risk, he said, "We were never defensive about Gujarat. What happened in Godhra and what followed later was unfortunate and condemnable. But this continuing tirade against Modi is disturbing."
He denied that the Gujarat situation had brought Hindutva to the forefront.
Asked about the charge that the BJP is exploiting the situation considering that 800 persons died in the violence and the situation in the state is yet to return to normalcy, Mahajan said, "Nobody believes us when we say that we are trying to bring back peace in the state. So, we're taking our case to the people."
He said that the BJP's reverses in recent assembly elections and the fact that it is in power in only three states compared to the Congress's 14 would not have a bearing on national politics.
"Of the 14 states, a few have only one or two Lok Sabha seats. How will it change the equation in the Centre?"
"Besides, we have defeated the Congress even when they were in power in 21 states," Mahajan pointed out.
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