'INDIA' bloc aims to promote interests of some families: BJP slams oppn

The BJP on Thursday slammed the opposition INDIA bloc as a "selfish alliance" aimed at promoting and protecting the interests of families at the helm of its member parties.

With 28 opposition parties meeting in Mumbai to give concrete shape to their agenda against the BJP, the ruling party's spokesperson Sambit Patra said the Congress' "missile" will never launch as it has no fuel.

The BJP's Chandrayaan will successfully land for a third time in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as it is fuelled by development, he told reporters, drawing an analogy with the country's historic lunar exploration mission.

"The CMP (common minimum programme) being discussed in the INDIA alliance is, in fact, all about having "corruption's maximum profit" as all these parties together represent scams worth over Rs 20 lakh crore," he alleged.

Their other aim is to deliver a blow to the stable and pro-development dispensation running under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, he added.

Patra said the opposition's attempt to come together is a game of musical chairs and that these parties engage before every election against the BJP even though their own alliance is marked by mutual fight and one-upmanship over who will be the prime ministerial face.

This "ghamandia alliance" is a selfish grouping, he said, alleging that leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Lalu Prasad Yadav are more likely to be driven by the future of their children in politics than the country's development.

Their goal is "maximum parivarvaad", he claimed. The alliance has neither policy nor intention or a leader, he added.