PM pegs it on nationalism

Observing that ‘‘if anyone from our party is found indulging in corruption, he is expelled,’’ the Prime Minister asked: ‘‘What about other parties?’’ He then referred to the Bofors issue saying that the case involving irregularities of crores of rupees in the purchase of armaments is still continuing.

Referring to the annual problem of drought and floods, Vajpayee said there is no shortage of water in the country but added: ‘‘We have been allowing the river waters to flow down to the sea. There are some dams but these are not sufficient. So we have decided to link up the rivers.’’ In this context, he said: ‘‘One would have expected the Congress to find a solution to this recurring problem of drought and floods, but they failed.’’

On the Indo-Pak relations, the Prime Minister said peace has been established on the border. ‘‘We want these good relations to continue and, in this situation of peace and harmony, the countries should continue to progress,’’ he said.

India is recognised as a major power in the world polity, ‘‘not just militarily but as an economic power also. We are taken seriously today by the world nations who used to ignore us earlier,’’ he said.

Vajpayee also referred to the promise of providing one crore jobs, saying: ‘‘We have fulfilled that promise. Jobs do not mean government employment. It means work.’’

Dismissing as baseless the charge against the BJP of being communal, Vajpayee said the achievements of the coalition government in the past five years have exposed those who indulged in such propaganda.

‘‘We are not communal. We don’t discriminate on the basis of caste and religion. We are nationalists and the propagandists have been unmasked,’’ he said.

Taking a dig at the Congress’ attempts to cobble up a coalition, he said the main Opposition party started looking for political allies only after realising the strength of the NDA.

Listing out the steps taken by the NDA Government towards the welfare of the farmers, the Prime Minister said the interest on agricultural loans has been lowered and farmers have been provided with credit cards.

‘‘We want to change the face of the country. The funds should be properly utilised. Corruption will have to be eliminated. There is no place for the corrupt in our scheme of things,’’ he said.