Fissures in the NDA on Wednesday emerged over the issue of supporting the bill for quota in promotions for SC/ST with key ally JD-U 'fully supporting' the bill even as the BJP is averse to its passage in the current session.
Asked about the divergence in the stand of the two parties over the issue, JD-U chief Sharad Yadav said, "They are a different political party."
Yadav, who is also the convener of the NDA, said that his party will talk to the BJP leadership over the issue but made it clear there is 'no NDA meeting' scheduled as yet to discuss the issue.
When told that another NDA constituent Shiv Sena has also not supported the bill, he merely said that JD-U is based on the ideology of socialist leaders like Ram Manohar Lohia and Karpuri Thakur thereby implying that that though the JD-U is in the NDA, it has somewhat different ideological moorings than other parties in the alliance.
Yadav, however, dismissed contentions of any rift in the NDA, saying it will remain intact.
"There are certain issues on which we have different stands from our ally BJP but there is no division in the NDA. NDA is one and will remain intact," Yadav said while announcing that his party 'fully supports the bill for providing reservation for promotion in jobs to the SC/ST'.
The JD-U chief said that the Cabinet of Bihar government led by his party leader Nitish Kumar had approved such a provision on August 17 itself while the Centre is moving it now.
On Mayawati blaming both NDA and UPA for delay in passage of the bill, Yadav said the BSP supremo was 'ignorant' and engaging in 'vote politics'.
Yadav said he 'fully supports' the bill and reminded the BSP chief that the BJP-JDU combine government in Bihar had passed such a bill way back on August 17.
"This is nothing but a fight for votes of Dalits in Uttar Pradesh. This has become an electoral issue in UP. JD-U has not confined itself to just speaking in favour of Dalits. It has actually taken steps for their welfare.''
"Mayawati is slamming UPA and NDA in the same breath. It looks she is totally ignorant of even what has happened even in her neighbourhood Bihar, where the BJP-JDU alliance government passed such a bill on August 17 itself," Yadav said.
He said the former UP Chief Minister is not bothered about the Dalits of other states but is limited to Uttar Pradesh.
"She is not aware of what is happening outside UP not even what happened in a state neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. Mayawati should know about the stands of other parties in the country as well. We have always always fought for the deprived. Dalits have suffered for centuries and it is in national interest to stand by them. JD-U is fully supporting the bill," he said.
Yadav said that as far as BJP is concerned, the party is right now focused on the fight against irregularities in the coal block allocation.
He also pointed out that BJP is a crucial partner in the the alliance government of Bihar, which passed such a bill last month.