Cong pulls another list of charges out of its old hat

A whole chapter is dedicated to ‘‘Vajpayee’s flip-flop’’ dealing with the Prime Minister’s ‘‘changing views’’ on a variety of topics from Ayodhya to Muslims to employment for the youth. ‘‘We have a Prime Minister who is changing his stance,’’ the senior leader said. He added, ‘‘I don’t think there is an Atal factor in these polls.’’

Mukherjee said the country has lost Rs 49,057 crore due to the various scams ranging from Tehelka, Balco, Centaur, Hudco to the coffin scam. Focusing on Defence Minister George Fernandes, Mukherjee asked why he was reinducted into the Cabinet before being absolved of the charges.

Dikshit pointed out that under the NDA-led Government, the Women’s Reservation Bill and Statehood bill were discarded.

Releasing the chargesheet simultaneously in Mumbai, Dr Manmohan Singh said there is visible evidence that the Vajpayee Government had failed on all counts.

‘‘When the Congress left office there was a visible surge in industry, economy, agriculture and exports. The BJP has only created a big hype that India is shining. In reality, the picture is different,’’ he said.

In Kolkata, Arjun Singh said the Prime Minister has feet of clay. “People have seen it time and again,” he said.