Reacting to the controversy stirred by the INDIA bloc leaders Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal proposing the name of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge as the PM candidate of the coalition, BJP leader and union minister Giriraj Singh on Tuesday said that the proposal was an attempt to "oust" Rahul Gandhi from the race.
"Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee know that Khargeji won't be the prime ministerial candidate when Rahul Gandhi is there. Both of them have laid a trap to oust Rahul Gandhi (from the race). They have taken both of them (Kharge and Gandhi) in their trap," Singh told PTI.
Kharge: INDIA Bloc's PM Face
On Tuesday, some leaders of the INDIA bloc including Trinamool Congress' (TMC) Mamata Banerjee and Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday proposed Kharge's name as the prime ministerial face of the coalition when the 28 parties took part in the fourth meeting of the alliance in Delhi.
Reasponding to the suggestion, Kharge maintained that this was a matter to be discussed later and their first priority was to try and get a majority by working together.
"First, all of us have to win, we should think about what needs to be done for victory. Who will be PM, this will be decided later. If there are less MPs, what is the point of talking about PM. First, to increase our numbers, (by) coming together, we will try to bring majority. First we will try to win," he said.
Reactions from other BJP leaders
West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said that the BJP is not interested in who is the prime minister from the opposition camp as it has a powerful leader like Narendra Modi in theirs.
"We don't have any interest in this. Even people do not have any interest in it. Our leader is Narendra Modi. There is no question thinking of any other leader after having such a powerful leader like Modi," Adhikari told ANI.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said, "Whatever happened in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Chhattisgarh, everyone is aware of that. What Akhilesh Yadav spoke about Kamal Nath and what Arvind Kejriwal spoke about Congress government in Chhattisgarh, everyone knows..."
