Union minister Narayan Rane on Tuesday asserted there was not a single leader in the INDIA bloc to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said parties in the opposition front will start fighting for their share of seats as soon the Lok Sabha election schedule is announced.
The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader maintained that under the PM's leadership India has become the fifth-largest economy in the world.
"India has emerged as one of the top five economies of the world under Prime Minister Modi's leadership. The opposition alliance does not have a single leader to counter him,” Mr Rane told reporters here.
"Parties of the INDIA alliance may have come together for now, but as soon as the next Lok Sabha elections are announced, there will be a tussle among them on sharing of seats," he said.
More than two dozen anti-BJP parties have come together under the banner of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to take on the saffron outfit and its allies in the next Lok Sabha polls.
The Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) was interacting with the media after participating in a seminar-cum-exhibition, "Indore Conclave", organized by the Department for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
Replying to a question, Mr Rane said there will be no delay on the part of the central government in implementing the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam', a legislation providing for a 33 per cent quota for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies which was passed by Parliament last week.
He said procedures for implementation of the landmark legislation are being completed and its provisions will come into force in 2029.
Mr Rane sought to counter the Congress over its criticism of the BJP-led government for not providing sub-quota to OBCs in the women's reservation bill, saying the opposition party is only interested in creating controversies.
"The Congress is pointing fingers at the bill on one pretext or the other. This party only talks about creating controversies. There was a Congress government at the Centre for a long time, so why did it not give reservation to OBC women?" the Union minister asked.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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