Oppn alliance would be unworkable coalition of rivals: Jaitley

The proposed grand alliance of opposition parties will be a "coalition of rivals" which cannot govern the country and its fast-growing economy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said here Saturday.

The country has paid a heavy price for such "experiments" in the past, he said at the annual Economic Times awards function.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had recently met Congress president Rahul Gandhi in an attempt to bring opposition parties together against the BJP-led NDA ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

"What is being attempted today is perhaps more disastrous than any adventurism of the past. It's a coalition of rivals. Can the world's fastest moving economy, can the largest democracy, ever be governed by a coalition of rivals," Jaitley asked, without naming any party or leader.

"And a coalition of rivals doesn't work. We have seen that. We have experimented with these kind of coalitions and the country paid a very heavy price," he said.

He said the country had coherent economic policies when there was a strong political leadership.

"The kind of adventurism with a combination of rivals which is being attempted is a certain recipe for a disaster," the finance minister said.