Thiruvananthapuram, Sunday 11 July 2010: A day after being put under shadow of doubt by the Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, NCP state leadership came out with clarification. NCP State president AC Shanmughadas declined to statement on the remarks made by Achuthanandan. Shanmughadas however justified that the relation that NCP has with Congress.

The state leadership points out that BJP is the main opponent of the party and as such all actions would be aiming the defeat of the latter. Tact with Congress is in those areas where BJP is causing a threat, he added.

Earlier report:

Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan Saturday voiced reservation over ruling LDF’s decision to make Nationalist Congress Party a partner of the coalition despite that party being a key component of the UPA Government at the Centre.

While LDF is strongly opposed to policies and programmes of Congress, NCP’s national spokesman D P Thripathi had made it clear his party would continue to be an integral part of the UPA at the Centre.

This would be discussed seriously, he said on the sidelines of a function here. He said NCP was trying to forge an alliance with other parties wherever it was not the partner of Congress.

The firm stand of LDF, however, was to oppose Congress’s positions on vital issues, he said. The LDF state committee had earlier this week decided to make NCP a component of LDF, regardless of that party’s alliance with Congress at the national level.

CPM had overruled the dissent of minor partners like RSP and Congress-S over the move. LDF convener Vaikom Viswan had justified the decision, holding that taking NCP into LDF would be beneficial to the coalition and the state in the prevailing circumstances.