New Delhi: In an apparent bid to give pinpricks to major ally Congress, the NCP on Friday announced that it will form a secular democratic front in poll-bound states like Kerala and Assam.
But the NCP tied itself up in knots when it said it will protest against the Union government of which its leader Sharad Pawar is a part.
"We would like to be with the Congress but Congress does not want us to be with them.... If Congress does not give us space, we will try to find our own space," NCP General Secretary D P Tripathi told reporters here.
He said the NCP will forge an alliance of secular and democratic parties in various states, particularly in Kerala and Assam, where elections are due next year.
Tripathi said NCP is now a part of the Left Democratic Front in Kerala and will contest elections jointly next year.
NCP could also explore options in Andhra Pradesh where Jagan Mohan Reddy is going ahead with his Odarpu Yatra despite objection to it from the Congress high command.
Taking its bitterness with Congress to new lengths, Tripathi said the party will be part of the LDF protests in Kerala against price rise.
But when confronted with the fact that the Left protests are against Sharad Pawar's handling of the price issue, he sought to wriggle out saying "the protests are not against an individual but against the UPA government".
However, Congress sought to dismiss Tripathi's comments saying "we are a big party and a big alliance and we do not think there is any change in the situation. But who knows what will happen in the future."
The Congress said there was nothing abnormal about some constituents of the UPA like NCP fighting against the Congress in some states outside Maharashtra.
On the party's approach to Bihar, Tripathi said, "If the Congress does not have an alliance with us, we will go with the smaller parties."
Elections are due in Bihar later this year and Congress has already indicated that it will go it alone in the polls.
Asked whether it was ethical for the NCP to be part of UPA and oppose its policies, Tripathi shot back and said, "It is absolutely ethical."
His remarks come at a time when Pawar, the Minister incharge of Agriculture and Food and Consumer Affairs portfolios at the Centre, has requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to reduce his workload to enable him give attention to strengthening his party.
On Pawar's request to Singh, Tripathi said that the NCP would like the principles of coalition to be upheld.
"The coalition principles state that the share of the constituent party in the government should not be reduced or taken away. We wish our share in government to remain, but it is for the Prime Minister to decide," he said.
"We are in alliance with the NCP at the national level as well as in Maharashtra. But NCP had put its candidates against us in Bihar. It is normal," Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told reporters.
