Era of one party rule over in India: Shanta

Ludhiana, Feb 8 (UNI) Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar today said ''the era of one party rule was over in the country and ''coalition politics was here to stay''.

''Now is the era of coalition politics--whether one accepts it or not'', he said while addressing a media conference after campaiging for the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP candidates in this industrial city of Punjab.

Predicting that the SAD-BJP alliance would be voted to power in this border state, he said and cited the ''thin attendance'' at the poll rallies addressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. ''The rallies were a flop despite the fact that the administration tried its best to 'force' people to attend the rallies,'' he claimed.

Refering to the price index, Mr Kumar said the UPA government had failed to control the prices of essential commodities, particularly 'atta', 'dal' and sugar. ''The government has large reserves of sugar, but still it had not checked the price rise of this commodity,'' he claimed.

UNI