SAD-BJP coalition on verge of collapse: Cong

Stating that the SAD-BJP coalition is on a verge of collapse, Congress today questioned Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's silence over repeated allegations on his government by Chief Parliamentary Secretary Navjot Kaur Sidhu and the counter-allegations against BJP leaders by Akalis.
"An unending civil war is going on within this government and the chief minister has shut his eyes and ears while letting it to be a free-for-all game," said senior party leader and Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh in a statement issued here today.
"There is no love lost between the two alliance partners (Akalis and BJP) and their marriage is on the verge of a collapse," he added.

Congress also asked the Bharatiya Janata Party to clarify whether it endorsed Sidhu's stand.
Rana, a former Congress MP, said Sidhu has been levelling serious allegations against state revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia and other Akali leaders and ministers for quite some time now.
Sidhu has blamed Majithia for the neglect of her Assembly segment (Amritsar - East) which had prompted her to launch a hunger strike on August 15, he said.

"The irony of the matter is that Badal has maintained dumb silence as he has neither been denying these charges nor taking any action against Sidhu," he pointed out, adding, "either Majithia is guilty of the charges Sidhu has been levelling against him or she is wrong and only Badal can clarify who is right and who is wrong."

Rana observed that the chief minister was only biding the time to ensure survival of his government till 2017.
"Otherwise the two alliance partners have already made up their mind for a divorce and are carrying on as reluctant partners only to complete the term," he remarked, while asking the senior BJP leaders at the centre to clarify the party's stand as where it stood, "whether in the government or in the opposition.