Seer can wait, aam aadmi gets BJP attention

The BJP leaders — who later courted arrest near Ambedkar Stadium — concentrated on attacking the government’s economic policies. Huge posters comparing the prices of essential commodities between April 2004 (the last month of NDA rule) and November 2004 were also on display.

The favourite slogan was ‘‘Jab, jab Congress aayi hain, kamartod mehangai laayi hain (everytime the Congress comes to power, back-breaking price rise follows suit)’’.

Advani used the slogan as a cue to look back at the Vajpayee government’s ‘‘exemplary’’ record on the price front. Despite severe crises such as the post-Pokhran II sanctions, the Kargil war, cyclones, earthquakes and drought, the BJP-led government had managed to hold the price line, he said.

Like other speakers before him, including Murli Manohar Joshi and Venkaiah Naidu, Advani referred to the Congress election slogan appealing to the ‘‘aam aadmi’’ and said, ‘‘Congress ka haath ne aam aadmi ka saath nahin diya, par vishwasghat kiya.’’ (Congress has betrayed the common man).

(The true defender of the common man today is Vajpayee, Advani, BJP).

Former prime minister Vajpayee also spoke of the memorable record of the NDA — there was no shortage of essential commodities and constant ministerial monitoring ensured there was no price rise, he said. Recalling Sonia Gandhi’s remark that the BJP’s claims were akin to ‘‘Mungeri Lal ke haseen sapne’’, Vajpayee said amid loud applause — ‘‘Hum sapne zaroor dekhte hain, par hum sapnon ko saakar bhi karna jaante hain’’ (We may be dreamers, but we also know how to fulfill our dreams).

Referring to the LS poll debacle, Vajpayee told the party rank and file that neither defeat nor victory was permanent. The BJP may have lost the Lok Sabha polls, but had won in many states — and the results of the local bodies elections (in MP and Rajasthan) showed that people continued to be satisfied with the party’s policies and performance.