Allies shouldn’t air views in public, says Venkaiah

A day after Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie criticised key NDA ally Shiv Sena on divestment issue, the BJP today asked alliance partners not to publicly air their views on the subject.

	Udhav attacks Shourie
MUMBAI: Refuting Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie’s allegations on the Centaur Hotel sale, Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray asked if the policy was so “weak” that it could be managed on phone. “As per the policy, the party purchasing a company should be prohibited from selling it,” he said. (Agencies)

Party chief Venkaiah Naidu told mediapersons that ‘‘whatever views the ministers may have should be expressed at the appropriate forum”.

He said ministers must refrain from making critical remarks about other NDA constituents. ‘‘I have advised them before and I would like to advise them again to discuss issues amongst themselves.’’

In Delhi, Coal and Mines Minister Uma Bharti said her ministry’s suggestions on the issue had been ‘‘consistently ignored’’ and she would now place them before the Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani.

‘‘Whatever issues Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie and I have, I would not call them differences. I do not want to make those opinions public. I have decided to place them before the Prime Minister and the deputy Prime Minister,’’ Bharti told a TV channel.