The Hindu : New Delhi News : UPA a sinking ship, says BJP

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UPA a sinking ship, says BJP

Staff Reporter

“It is a matter of shame that the ruling party can’t find a safe seat for the PM”

Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

poll mode: BJP candidates for Delhi Lok Sabha seats (from left) B.L. Sharma Prem, Vijay Goel, Meera Kanwaria, Vijendra Gupta, Jagdish Mukhi, Chetan Chauhan and Ramesh Bidhuri during a party workers’ conference on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: Comparing the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance at the Centre to a sinking ship with all its allies deserting it one by one, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader V.K. Malhotra on Saturday said it was a “shame” that the ruling party could not find a safe seat for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from where he could emerge victorious in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing a party workers’ conference at the Delhi BJP headquarters, Prof. Malhotra said: “Even though Congress president Sonia Gandhi had announced with much fanfare that Manmohan Singh was the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate, the latter was shying away from participating in a live debate on television with Advaniji. Mr. Advani has openly challenged Dr. Singh for a debate citing the examples of the US and Britain where such debates are held in the run-up to the polls. The Congress excuse is that Dr. Singh is indisposed as he had undergone surgery recently. If he is so unwell, then how can he run the country?”

The BJP leader said UPA allies Lalu Prasad, Mulayam Singh and Ram Vilas Paswan had arrived at an understanding on 140 seats in U.P., Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand. “They have not offered a single seat to the Congress which is busy accepting rebels into its fold.”

Charging that everybody was targeting the BJP candidate from Pilibhit, Varun Gandhi, for his alleged hate speeches, Prof. Malhotra said: “Varun says his speech has been doctored. He had only said that one should cut the hands of terrorists who target innocent Hindus. While Varun is being targeted, nobody has raised a finger against anti-national people like Madani.”

The BJP leader said the BJP if voted to power would implement the uniform civil code. “When we have a similar criminal code for both Hindus and Muslims, then why not a common civil code? Islamic countries don’t give subsidy to Haj pilgrims, but India does. But Hindu pilgrims to Kailash Mansarovar and Sikh pilgrims travelling to their shrines in Pakistan are not given any subsidy by the Government,” he added.

Delhi BJP president O.P. Kohli told the party workers to take the NDA’s programme to the people. “The Congress has failed to provide security to the people. After the Mumbai terror attack in November last year, the Congress has not taken any concrete action. It has adopted a soft approach towards militants.”

He said when the NDA handed over power to the UPA Government, the prices of food and essential commodities were stable, but “now the common man is bearing the brunt of the steep price rise and also massive unemployment.”

Prof. Kohli said his party would restructure the Delhi Development Authority if voted to power. “So many scandals have surfaced in the DDA. The Congress has not done anything for the unauthorised colonies apart from giving provisional certificates. Elderly, women and children are unsafe in Delhi which has now become the crime capital of the country.”

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