Singh shrewdest PM: Jaitley

Citing example of BJP leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani,Jaitley said: “After serving the people for 55 years,Vajpayee became the prime minister. Advani’s career also extends over five decade. But Singh has always preferred Rajya Sabha and does not believe in facing the people.”

He called Singh incompetent to hold the post of the prime minister as “before making any decision,he has to seek approval from 10,Janpath”. Singh has special skills to appease senior leaders and this has helped him in reaping maximum reward through minimal efforts,Jaitley added.

He also attacked Congress candidate from Kanpur,Shriprakash Jaiswal. “He specialises in making statements. Even if he is unaware about an issue,the Congress leader does not shy from making a baseless comment,” he said.

Jaitley,who was in the city to campaign for party candidate Satish Mahana,also slammed the BSP and the SP.

Accusing the BSP of sheltering criminals,he said: “Out of the 80 candidates put up by the BSP,18 have criminal cases against their names. The tainted background of the candidates will prove dear to the party in the elections,” he said. He added that before coming to power,Chief Minister Mayawati had claimed to arrest all criminals.

“But interestingly,majority of the don-turned-politicians are now BSP candidates,” Jaitley said.

Coming down hard on the SP,Jaitley said party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav should formally announce that whether he is with the Congress or not. “Both Mayawati and Yadav face charges under disproportionate assets case. They support Congress only to save themselves from legal action,” he added.