The Third Front is only a parking slot: Venkaiah Naidu

Stating that the Third Front has no policy or commitment, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday termed the 'alternative' combination of parties as a "parking slot."

"The Third Front is only a parking slot. It has no policy and commitment. All the leaders from Third Front have an ambition to become prime minister and everyone of them has his own agenda," Venkaiah said while addressing party workers in Vijaywada.

Eleven Left and secular parties on Tuesday came together claiming to be the alternative and vowed to defeat both the Congress and the BJP.

The announcement was made after a meeting in New Delhi of the leaders of the Janata Dal-United, the Samajwadi Party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Janata Dal-Secular, the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha and four Left parties.

Stating that vote for Third front is only a vote for the Congress, the BJP leader said, "The formation of Third Front is only to divide the anti-Congress vote."

The nation is looking towards BJP's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi and to throw away Congress from power, Naidu said. "The wave is in favour of Modi," he said, while claiming that many thinkers and leaders from other national organisations were now preparing to join hands with BJP to make Modi, the PM.

Alleging that the Congress has lost its credibility, he said the major issues in the coming elections would be -- corruption, inflation, suicide by farmers, lower growth rate and fiscal and trade deficits.

He said many surveys have shown that the BJP will definitely win about 247 seats in the general elections, which is only 25 seats short of the magic mark of 272 (needed to form government) in a House of 543.

Amid speculation of the Lok Janashakti Party joining hands with it, Naidu alleged that the United Progressive Alliance was now misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation against Ram Vilas Paswan as it had targeted its other opponents.

"Paswan is the latest example of misuse of the CBI by Congress," Naidu told media persons apparently hinting that the Paswan was being harassed following reports that he was contemplating joining hands with the party.

Naidu was reacting over reports that the CBI may question former Union Steel Minister Paswan in connection with alleged illegalities in the Bokaro Steel plant recruitment process in which relatives of some high-profile personalities are under the scanner of the agency.

Paswan, who is negotiating seating arrangements in Bihar for the upcoming general elections, has come under the lens following recovery of some documents which, agency sources claimed, indicate that his staff may have been actively involved in extending favours to some candidates.

Paswan was Union minister for chemicals, fertilizers and steel during the UPA government between May 2004 and May 2009 and these allegedly fraudulent appointments were made during his tenure.

The former BJP chief further said, "Till the time former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was at the helm of affairs, there was no inquiry against his son

Jaganmohan Reddy. However, after his father's demise Jagan snapped ties with the Congress and the government ordered a CBI inquiry into his assets."

"Till the time Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati support the UPA, there would be no CBI inqiry against them and they even tried to issue clean chits to them through CBI," Naidu claimed.

The CBI should be kept as an independent investigation agency and not be misused for political purposes, Naidu said alleging, "But the Congress utilises the services of the CBI against its political opponents.”