Kolkata: The Nationalist Trinamool Congress chief and Union Minister for Coal and Mines Mamata Banerjee today (Apr 22, 2004) said that there were "distortions" in Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Nagpur statement and it would not affect the unity among the allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

"I don't think the Prime Minister has expressed any inability of successfully running a 22-party coalition Government. There were many distortions. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can seek to increase its strength in Lok Sabha. What is the wrong in that? After all we (the NDA constituents) are bound by the common agenda," Mamata said at her residence immediately after filing her nomination from Calcutta South Lok Sabha seat, from where she is seeking re-election.

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"It will not affect the unity among the NDA allies," she said when a reporter asked her comment on Vajpayee's reported remark at Nagpur that it would be easier to govern the country if BJP alone gets the majority.