We will wait and watch as UPA govt collapses: BJP

The BJP’s response to Mamata Banerjee’s decision to pull out of the UPA was one of glee, but it is likely to wait and watch until the situation becomes clearer. Vikas Pathak reports. Cong stunned, but hopeful | DMK joins bandh, says options open

The BJP’s response to Mamata Banerjee’s decision to pull out of the UPA was one of glee, but it is likely to wait and watch until the situation becomes clearer.

Though the party held that it would take the next step after consulting its allies, sources said that a special session of Parliament to topple the government seemed like a possible option.

A BJP leader, however, said the party wouldn’t rush into such a decision — considering that the parties supporting the Congress often take ‘U-turns’.

However, BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad welcomed the “changed scenario”, saying the government was now a Congress government rather than a UPA government.

Party leaders were quick to point out that the DMK had also announced its participation in the September 20 Bharat Bandh against the Centre’s decision to hike diesel prices and ration LPG.

“The withdrawal of support by Mamata Banerjee has altered the situation. The countdown to the UPA government’s end has begun,” Prasad said. “If one brick comes out of a tottering building, the other bricks also become unstable.”

The party also took heart from the fact that Banerjee had said that FDI in multi-brand retail was announced to divert attention from the coal block controversy.