Thackeray fails to drop Bofors bombshell

MUMBAI, FEB 25: The Sena ads had gone to town with the claim that bombshells will fall on the Bofors beneficiaries'' at Bal Thackeray and ...

MUMBAI, FEB 25: The Sena ads had gone to town with the claim that 8220;bombshells will fall on the Bofors beneficiaries8221; at Bal Thackeray and Atal Behari Vajpayee8217;s public meeting at Shivaji Park. However, the closest either of them came to the grand revelation was with Vajpayee reiterating that the Gujral government fell because it was getting hot on the Bofors trail. And Thackeray, who was to drop the bombshells, ended his speech hurriedly to enable Vajpayee to make it to the funeral of his elder brother who died today.

The rally, billed as a reply to the one held by Sonia last week on the same venue, was impressive by any standards. However, Intelligence sources and other observers said it fell just short of Sonia8217;s both in numbers and spontaneity of response.

Leading the charge against the Congress, the BJP8217;s Prime Ministerial candidate Vajpayee blamed the Congress and the United Front for 8220;burdening the country8221; with an unnecessary election.8220;The Congress is responsible for the death of the UFgovernment which was formed for a period of five years. The child mortality rate which is very high in India is now also applicable to the Lok Sabha,8221; he remarked.

Vajpayee alleged that the Congress withdrew support to the UF government when it realised that the government had written to the Swiss government to make the names of the recipients of kickbacks in the Bofors deal public. 8220;The Congress realised that the truth would be out and hence withdrew support,8221; he charged, adding Sonia Gandhi was 8220;angry at this statement8221; but had not bothered to reply to the allegations so far. Sonia raised the issue to suppress it, he alleged, 8220;and we have raised it to tell the truth8221;.

Vajpayee also said he would include the country8217;s Prime Minister in the Lok Pal Bill and give it the form of a law if the party formed a government at the Centre.

He said the United Front did not include the Prime Minister in the Bill as promised earlier.

He said the Congress and its allies were trying to keep the BJP out withslogans on secularism. 8220;But nobody should try to teach us about secularism. We have never discriminated on grounds of religion.8221; The Kashmiri youths who surrendered their weapons want the BJP to come to power, he said.

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8220;I am in your adalat now,8221; the BJP leader said, adding he needed all the LS seats in the state to get a majority. 8220;Democracy is a game of numbers. It is a count of heads. We did not have it in the last elections but we are confident of doing it this time.8221; The elections in 1971 and 1989 were an indication of the falling of the Congress, he said. Now, Sonia is trying to garner sympathy by harping on the fact that she is a widow and a woman, he added. 8220;Can I ask for votes saying I am a bachelor; that I am a man?8221; he asked.

As for Thackeray, his attack on Sonia was surprisingly mild he merely reiterated that he would 8220;not allow a foreigner8221; to become Prime Minister of India.

8220;Under no circumstances will we allow her to become Prime Minister. We will ensure that veteran BJP leaderAtal Behari Vajpayee is installed in the office after the mid-term polls,8221; Thackeray told the mammoth crowd.

However, in his brief speech, Thackeray simply said that since 8220;prominent and competent personalities8221; like Atal Behari Vajpayee were ready to accept the reins of the nation, it would be a 8220;great insult to democracy8221; if a foreigner occupied the top office.

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On the massive response to Sonia Gandhi8217;s rally held at the same venue on Sunday, Thackeray remarked that while many of them were brought, some of them had come to see her out of curiosity.

Significantly, Thackeray did not speak on the Bofors scandal nor did he refer to the serial bomb blasts that rocked Coimbatore recently. Both the Sena and the BJP had been declaring over the past two days that Vajpayee and Thackeray would throw light on the two events. 8220;Since Vajpayee has to leave for Delhi immediately in view of the sudden and sad demise of his elder brother, I am winding up my speech,8221; Thackeray said.

He however stayed longenough to launch a frontal attack on AICC President Sitaram Kesri and senior Congress leader Sharad Pawar for 8220;virtually surrendering8221; to Sonia Gandhi. 8220;They are raising slogans like Sonia lao, desh bachao. Instead of recalling the contribution of great freedom fighters like Madanlal Dhingra and Mangal Pandey, the Kesri-Pawar duo was showering praise on a foreigner,8221; Thackeray said. Referring to the statement of Congress leaders that Indira Gandhi sacrificed her life for the cause of the nation, Thackeray said the 8220;real sacrifice8221; was made by none other than former Army Chief General Arun Kumar Vaidya, who was shot dead at his Pune residence for leading Operation Bluestar.

Thackeray said Pawar8217;s frequent threats of dismissing the alliance government would not work. 8220;Ours is a stable government and no one, including Sharad Pawar, has the courage to dismiss our government,8221; the Sena chief thundered. Thackeray also ridiculed reports appearing in a section of the media stating that Congress wouldget 24 to 30 seats in Maharashtra. 8220;No Intelligence agency, either of the Centre or the state government, has submitted any such report. I am sure, we will secure at least 45 out of the 48 seats,8221; Thackeray asserted.