In line with the BJP's recent appeal to Mamata Banerjee to join the NDA, a senior party leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Sunday said she was always welcome to join the combine and praised her for 'showing guts' in opposing wrong policies of the Centre.
"In politics there is no permanent friend or foe. Once she was with the NDA and we always welcome Mamataji to come back. But as of today, I cannot say. It is not the ideology which decides who is on which side. Chandrababu Naidu was once with NDA," Modi, the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, said.
He claimed that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalilithaa was also an 'ally' of the NDA. Giving a thumbs up to Banerjee's opposition to UPA government's wrong policies, Modi told a press conference that despite being a partner in the ruling coalition, she was not scared and had the guts to opposes the wrong policies.
"She deserve to be praised," Modi said in response to a reporter's reference to her opposition to the recent petrol price hike and the NCTC.
Asked to comment on the one-year performance of the TMC-led government in West Bengal, Modi declined to assess the government's performance, but gave her high marks on her 'honesty, sincerity, hardwork' and above all her intention to do good for the state.
Asked if the BJP would project Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate in the next Lok Sabha election, he said, "Election is far away. We will decide when the time comes. We will take cognizance of our alliance partners because the prime ministerial candidate of BJP will also be the NDA's prime ministerial candidate. We will take into account sentiments of alliance partners".