Deal stand-off ploy to divert attention: BJP

Attacking the UPA Government, Rajnath said its four-and-half-year record of governance was a proof that its performance had been dismal on all fronts.

8220;The price rise due to its failure on the economic front had made life hell for the common man. While the rate of inflation has climbed up to 11.42 per cent, the Government has remained a mute spectator,8221; Rajnath said.

8220;By attributing the fuel price rise to the rise in prices of crude oil in the international market, the Government is trying to hide its face,8221; he added.

The BJP leader remarked that though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Planning Commission Vice-Chairman Montek Singh Ahulwalia are all economists, they have failed to help the common man escape from double digit inflation.

8220;During the NDA Government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, there was Pokharan II and the Kargil war. Yet his Government kept the inflation under check, so much so that the common man never felt the pinch of the price hike,8221; he said.

Claiming that the results of the recent Assembly elections held in various states was a reflection of the party8217;s popularity, Rajnath said the BJP was the 8220;first choice8221; of the people.