BJP tells Left to end rhetoric, show it can also bite

His comments came after the CPIM Politburo, in a resolution, described the deal as 8220;unacceptable8221; and demanded that the Government should not proceed further on it. 8220;The Left should bite instead of barking,8221; Malhotra, whose party had sought a vote in Parliament on the 123 agreement, said. 8220;Empty rhetorics do not work.8221;

NDA Convenor George Fernandes, himself under fire for his remarks against the Prime Minister over the nuclear deal, too asked the Left to go beyond 8220;mere posturing8221;. Terming the Left8217;s ultimatum to the Government as 8220;hundred per cent8221; posturing, he said they would do nothing as 8220;they are just trying to find a way of remaining with the Government. There8217;s nothing much to it8221;.

Earlier, former deputy prime minister L K Advani had sought CPIM leader Prakash Karat8217;s support for the BJP8217;s call for a vote on the nuclear pact, but his request had been turned down.

Fernandes said he saw little possibility of that changing in the near future. 8220;I don8217;t think the Marxists would like to have any alliance with us,8221; he said.

Referring to Manmohan Singh8217;s claim that some BJP leaders conducted yagnas wishing his death, Fernandes said it was 8220;rubbish8221;. 8220;I think the Prime Minister is troubled, or else he would not have said that. Does he really think that one can die if yagnas are organised? This is rubbish. You should ask him why he said this.8221;

The NDA Convenor also stuck to his controversial remarks on Singh with regard to the Indo-US deal. 8220;In China, if a corrupt person is caught, he is shot with one bullet and that bullet8217;s price has to be paid by the family of the fellow. Here the country is being taken for a ride,8221; he said.

8220;The No. 1 person of the country Prime Minister has lied,8221; Fernandes asserted.

The RSS too challenged the Left to withdraw support to the UPA over the 123 accord. 8220;If the Left is serious about opposing the nuclear deal in particular and the US hegemony in general, it has no other option but to withdraw support to the UPA Government,8221; an editorial in Sangh mouthpiece Organiser said. It added that the Prime Minister8217;s challenge to the Communists to pull down his government has made their position untenable.

The Sangh write-up insisted that the deal would impose American supremacy over India. 8220;There is no way now for the Prime Minister to pretend that the deal is in India8217;s interest. This is a one-way street where only the big bully has all the right of way,8221; it said.

Manmohan Singh8217;s hard talk and the deal, the editorial added, have given the Left a golden opportunity to introspect. 8220;No longer can the comrades continue to enjoy power without accountability the way they have been doing all these years. If the deal is through, they will have to own up responsibility for allowing it and torpedoing the united opposition of the majority of Indians both inside and outside Parliament,8221; it said.

I wish the PM a long life, says Rajnath.

RAIPUR: BJP president Rajnath Singh has expressed surprise at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh8217;s statement that some BJP leaders had performed a 8216;havan8217; to see him dead. 8220;I wish the Prime Minister a long life,8221; was Rajnath Singh8217;s brief reply when his attention was drawn to Manmohan Singh8217;s statement made in an interview. 8220;I have never heard of such an 8216;anushthan8217; ritual nor can I think of someone doing that against another,8221; he said while addressing the media at the BJP8217;s district headquarters in Sarguja.