Advani: Govt led by non-PM

As the Manmohan Singh Government marked its third year in office with a dinner and applause from UPA allies, Opposition BJP described the Government as one headed by a non-Prime Minister. The party also drew up a long lists of failures, chief among them being the inability to control rising prices of essential commodities, surrendering India8217;s nuclear sovereignty, slipping up on internal security and not providing required impetus to infrastructure development.

Leader of Opposition L K Advani and BJP president Rajnath Singh came down heavily on the UPA8217;s performance in the past three years. 8220;The UPA Government8217;s failed performance in the past three years has had an inevitable outcome. Its downward slide has begun. Its unpopularity is growing at an accelerated pace,8221; said Advani, who was in Goa to launch the BJP8217;s election campaign.

Rajnath Singh, who released a 66-page document on the UPA8217;s performance, described the UPA as 8220;faceless, directionless and spineless8221; comparing that with the NDA8217;s marked plans till 2020. The chargesheet against the UPA government says how the Government8217;s 8220;soft policy on terrorism8221; had spawned trans-national terrorist network.

8220;The UPA failed to build upon General Pervez Musharraf8217;s promise in 2004 that the infrastructure of terror in Pakistan would be destroyed.8221;

Advani said there has been a 8220;conspicuous reluctance8221; on the part of the UPA to fight corruption, referring to the Quattrocchi issue, the Scorpene submarine scandal and the food-for-oil scandal scam in Iraq. 8220;In each of these, the Government has been caught in the act of cover-up,8221; he said.