United opposition a 'backhanded compliment' for PM Modi: Smriti Irani
The coming together of opposition parties against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a “backhanded compliment” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union minister Smriti Irani has said.
Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Irani, on Saturday said that opposition parties such as Congress were struggling for survival.
“They (opposition parties) are struggling for survival. The coming together of several parties against the BJP is a backhanded compliment to Prime Minister Modi, which shows that they can't win on their own,” said Smriti Irani on opposition parties making attempts to form an alliance against the BJP in the 2019 general elections.
The minister's remarks come days after united opposition front wrested power from BJP in its bastion Uttar Pradesh's Kairana during Lok Sabha bypolls. Earlier, an SP-BSP alliance had defeated BJP in Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha bypolls.
Following the byelection results, while the opposition said that the results showed the “beginning of BJP’s end”, the ruling party conceded that it needed to contemplate on the results, propelled apparently by a united opposition.
