BJP disagrees with Sangma's view that PM should be a Lok Sabha member

New Delhi, Apr 2 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said the Prime Minister of the country must have the potential to ensure a smooth functioning of the government, and such an individual being a member of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha was of least relevance.

BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said he disagreed with former Lok Sabha Speaker P.A. Sangma's view that the Prime Minister should be someone who is a member of the Lok Sabha.

"No, I do not agree with him (Sangma). Being from Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha is not a matter of concern, he can also be an unelected leader, it is his capability, his way of functioning and his potential is what matters the most. It is irrelevant to discuss where he belongs to as well as his house," said Naqvi.

"There are several Prime Ministers, who belonged to the Lok Sabha, but their names have come up in corruption scams, so all this is not essential," he added.

Naqvi further said though this is a dishonest government, it is headed by an honest Prime Minister.

"See, today this is the state of a dishonest government with an honest Prime Minister. The government is again and again getting embroiled in several controversies, one after the other, like today the internal problems within the armed forces are coming to the forefront; these are itself obstructions in its functioning," Naqvi said

" This portrays the government's mishandling; they are unaware of how a government should function. There are conflicts between members of the same party, there is no common consensus between party leaders over any issue, like now Sangma is saying something, Sharad Pawar had something earlier and Mamata Banerjee has said something, so they all have diverse opinions," he added.

Naqvi further said the probability of having mid term polls is very high, as the present government would continue dragging itself despite several shortcomings.

"Whatever I can see, the government will not function smoothly, but will continue dragging itself like it is presently. They will continue to make the situation even worse, so probability of having mid term polls is very high. Now, one cannot predict if these polls would be held in 2012 or 2013, whenever it happens, it is very difficult for the government to function in this manner," said Naqvi.

"So, they are just dragging themselves, like people push a damaged car and make it work anyhow, so people sitting in the car are also unaware of what is happening and those who are pushing are also getting tired," he added.

Sangma had earlier said one of the problems facing Indian democracy is that it's not binding on the Prime Minister to be a member of the Lok Sabha.

"We must amend the constitution to ensure that only an Lok Sabha member will be a PM. The most important duty of the Lok Sabha is to produce a PM. A Prime Minister from the Rajya Sabha cannot vote for his own government if he is not a member of the Lok Sabha, and this is an absurd situation," Sangma said.

Sangma said he was unable to recall any period in the history of Indian democracy when a Prime Minister remained in office for so long without being elected to the Lok Sabha. This, he said, has diminished the Prime Minister's Office. (ANI)