BJP accuses Congress of coalition mess

New Delhi, July 21 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday took a dig at the Centre over the recent coalition tussles, with party member Mukhtar Abbas Naqvilaiming that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had set a new example for coalition politics, of which the Congress has made a mess.

Interacting with mediapersons here, Naqvi said, "We also ran a federal coalition government for over 6 years, and our alliance under Atal ji changed the very definition of a coalition government and showed a very honest path, which the Congress government could not follow."

Naqvi said the Central government was ignoring grave national problems like drought and inflation and instead worried about ally troubles and the presidential elections.

"If this government had devoted only 10 percent as much time to checking inflation, and the impending drought situation than it does to the management of presidential elections and in saving its chair, it would have been beneficial for the country," he said.

Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh reached out to sulking UPA ally and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, calling him a "very valuable colleague."

Dr. Singh had spoken to Pawar on Thursday evening, while the UPA chief Sonia Gandhi met him on Friday morning to discuss the issues raised by him.

Media reports had earlier said that Pawar was extremely perturbed with the fact that after Pranab Mukherjee resigned from the Cabinet to contest the presidential election, Defence Minister A.K. Antony occupied the seat next to the Prime Minister at Cabinet meetings, reserved for the second most senior member of the government. (ANI)