PM146;s Age vs Sonia146;s Origin

The Congress today countered the BJP8217;s attack on Sonia Gandhi8217;s foreign origin by questioning the competence of 8216;8216;ageing...

The Congress today countered the BJP8217;s attack on Sonia Gandhi8217;s foreign origin by questioning the competence of 8216;8216;ageing8217;8217; Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

8216;8216;We don8217;t want to make a personal attack against anyone. But we are aware of Vajpayee8217;s competence8230;If Vajpayee was so competent then why has the BJP not got two-third majority in the 2002 Uttar Pradesh elections from where he is a Lok Sabha member,8217;8217; party spokesman Jaipal Reddy said.

Jogi wins over Opp leader8217;s daughter

Raipur: Chief Minister Ajit Jogi pulled the carpet from under the BJP8217;s feet today by announcing that the Opposition leader8217;s daughter, who was missing since yesterday, has joined the Congress.
Just when the BJP8217;s national executive was deliberating on the strategy for five states going to polls, the CM appeared before television cameras, confirming the induction of Priyam Paikra, daughter of BJP Legislature Party chief Nand Kumar Sai.
Paikra, the Janpad chief in Jaspur district, had gone missing from her house along with her husband. The Congress leaders deputed a senior government official to bring her to Raipur today and then presented her before the national media.
Even as BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan dismissed the episode as a 8216;8216;local matter8217;8217;, Sai complained before reporters that Jogi and his son Amit were behind the 8216;8216;defection drama8217;8217;.
Yesterday, Sai had alleged that his daughter and son-in-law have been kidnapped at the behest of the Chief Minister and his son. The BJP leader sat on a dharna in front of the police station after the police refused to lodge his complaint.
This morning, PCC president Ramanuj Lal Yadav presented Sai8217;s daughter before the media and issued a signed statement on her behalf.
8216;8216;This again is an immoral act by Jogi. He has not even spared me 8212; the leader of the opposition,8217;8217; Sai said. Ashwani Sharma

8216;8216;Does the BJP have nobody other than an octogenarian?8217;8217; he asked, adding, 8216;8216;There must be an objective criterion for a leader.8217;8217;

Yesterday, BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in response to a question had said, 8216;8216;We have no problem with the Congress making Sonia Gandhi or even Pervez Musharraf its president but projecting her as Prime Minister could raise questions among the people about national interest and security.8217;8217;

In Sonia8217;s defence, Reddy said: 8216;8216;What administrative experience did Vajpayee have before he became the Prime Minister? Perhaps, Vajpayee with his advancing age and sinking health needs more time to rest.8217;8217;

On the other hand, he said: 8216;8216;Sonia Gandhi has exhibited exceptional political competence and Congress has marched from being in power in five states when she took over to 15 states.8217;8217;

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On Vajpayee8217;s 50 years of experience, Reddy said: 8216;8216;It is up to the BJP if it wants to project Vajpayee as the mascot. The BJP is a party with two mascots and three musketeers.8217;8217;

Reddy said Vajpayee-Sonia face-off for the next general elections will be based on 8216;8216;age, results shown by the party, issues and politics8217;8217;.

Condemning Naqvi8217;s statement today, Reddy said: 8216;8216;It is totally objectionable, it is an outrageous utterance. This statement was later amended or withdrawn by some other leaders of the party. But that the official spokesperson should have made this statement indicates moral and cultural bankruptcy of the BJP as a political party.8217;8217;

On the BJP8217;s resolution on Ayodhya legislation today, Reddy said: 8216;8216;BJP must first get its NDA partners8217; support. There is no point in putting before us what NDA has rejected.8217;8217;

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Meanwhile, in Bhopal, NCP leader Sharad Pawar reiterated that his party has not changed its views on a person of foreign origin as Prime Minister.

Initially reluctant to air his views, 8216;8216;it is up to the Congress to choose its leader8217;8217;, he went on to hint that a coalition with the Congress was still possible if it was led by someone from outside that party.