Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal has alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance was an alliance “just in name”, The Indian Express reported on Monday. Badal’s comments came a day after his party, one of the BJP’s oldest allies, pulled out of the NDA.
“For the last 7, 8, 10 years or so, NDA is just in name,” he told the newspaper. “There is nothing in the NDA. No discussion, no planning, no meetings. I don’t remember a day in last 10 years when the Prime Minister called NDA meeting for lunch to discuss what they have in mind. Alliances should not be on paper… Before this, during Vajpayee’s time, there used to be a proper relationship. My father is a founder member of the NDA… It’s sad that we created the NDA but the NDA is not there today.”
Badal said the alliance was based on a common minimum programme,…