The BJP on Friday hit back at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his Rajdharma barbs at Narendra Modi and claimed it was the UPA Government, which had failed to perform its duty and keep promises made to people.
The Opposition party blasted the Prime Minister for betraying people on each and every promise that his Government made. “You and your party have no moral right to talk of Rajdharma as the dharma of Raja is to take care of the well being, safety and security of the country and of the people at all times and you failed in that dharma,” former BJP chief M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here.
Without taking names, the PM had invoked his predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee at a Congress rally in Jaipur recently to take digs at Modi. “I do not think there has ever been a time when his (Modi) own Government has not been facing such allegations (of violation of human rights of minorities). So much so, that once a former Prime Minister and a tall leader (Vajpayee) had even told him (Modi) to follow Rajdharma on these issues,” the PM had said.
Naidu hit out at the PM saying he at times became silent spectator and abetted the loot of public money and even failed to keep its promise of bringing back the illicit money stashed away in foreign banks.
“You and your party promised to control prices within 100 days of coming to power. You have not only failed on your promise but have added to the sufferings of the people by pursuing wrong economic policies resulting in high inflation and price rise breaking the backbone of the common man,” Naidu said.
He also lashed out at the PM for giving pravachan (sermons) to the BJP about maintaining decorum in political discourse when several leaders of PM’s own party have crossed limits to describe Modi by several names -- Maut Ka Saudagar, Ravana, Yamadharma Raja, dog and many more.
Questioning Congress’ commitment towards reservation to women in elected bodies and overall welfare of the fair sex, Naidu said here is a Government which tried to overturn the judgements of the Supreme Court, which gave death sentences to five persons in four cases of rape and murder involving three minor girls and beheading of one boy, by commuting their sentences to life imprisonment.
“In all these cases, heinous nature of the offences has been ignored and the principle that the power of pardon can only be exercised in the rarest of rate cases has also been ignored. Will you and the Congress explain this to the people as to how and why it acted in this shameless mannerIJ” Naidu asked.