Ramesh suggests tacit understanding between BJP, SP

Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh has suggested a tacit understanding between BJP and Samajwadi Party for the chasm in the Janata Parivar.
"The BJP and SP have always had an understanding and this could be a reason for the friction in the Janata Parivar," Ramesh told newspersons here yesterday.
"BJP wanted to contest the Bihar Vidhan Sabha elections on the basis of communal polarisation and this move could help in the saffron party's plans," Ramesh said.
Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the "best packaging expert", Ramesh said the schemes and programmes of the Manmohan Singh-led government are being repackaged by him and marketed as his own.

"Modi government has done nothing new. The project to clean Ganga has also been renamed... Even (US President)Obama is learning from him," Ramesh said.
"We had involved IIT experts for cleaning the Ganga whereas this government is trying to achieve the target through sadhus and saints," he claimed.

To a question on the Gujarat model of governance, he said that it has been exposed fully by 22-year-old Hardik Patel, who has been spearheading the Patel community's agitation for reservations.
Attacking the Samajwadi Party government, Ramesh said that though Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had a positive and development-oriented outlook, it was a "misfortune" that the state has "four chief ministers".

On the alleged MNREGS scam in the state, Ramesh said it was strange that the SP government was giving "protection" to those who were found guilty during the BSP government.
The Congress leader added that his party will contest the 2017 Assembly elections in UP on its own.