Wondering what the UPA Government was celebrating in the current atmosphere of ‘gloom, pessimism, cynicism and negativism’, the BJP on Wednesday directed its attack against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and lampooned the ‘model of leadership’ in the ruling coalition.
With the UPA II completing four years in office on Wednesday, leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley even questioned Singh’s authority as leader of the ruling coalition, whose allies turn to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, and not the Prime Minister, for solutions to their problem.
“This Government’s only achievement is that it has misused the CBI to remain in power for four years. The SP and the BSP, which save this Government with outside support, would not do so if the Government stops misusing the CBI,” Jaitley said.
Critical of the UPA’s performance on the economy, infrastructure, women’s security and foreign policy matters; the Opposition leaders highlighted the track record of the previous NDA regime and claimed that the Congress-led coalition received a booming economy in 2004. They also identified corruption as the “single most important factor” that destroyed the image of the UPA Government.
The BJP leaders alleged that the UPA’s indecisiveness was largely because of its structurally defective model of leadership that ensures that real power lies with the Congress chief and not with the Prime Minister.
“The endowment of power to extra-constitutional authorities outside the Government has taken away the Government’s ability to be decisive. It is the UPA Chairperson who is the last word on the policy and not the Prime Minister. For the future, the party cadres look to the heir apparent of the Congress Party’s first family and not the Prime Minister,” Swaraj and Jaitley said.
They alleged that the legitimacy of the office of the Prime Minister has been so denuded that Singh has become synonymous with indecision, inability and silence.
“Never before in history has the institution of the Prime Minister been at the receiving end of wit, sarcasm and ridicule,” the BJP leaders said.Swaraj and Jaitley claimed history will not judge the UPA Government by the number of years in power, but it will make a very harsh judgment for the damage that UPA has inflicted upon the country.
Dismissive about the UPA’s performance, the Opposition party alleged that unprecedented price rise during the nine years of their rule has caused immense misery to the common man.
“The investment environment in the country has been disturbed. The Indian economy which was being showcased to the rest of the world as an investment destination, lost its’ attraction.
“Investment, both domestic and foreign, started slowing. A reverse flight of investment from the country has started,” the two leaders said. They lamented that the success of vital sectors like telecom, power, national highways, rural roads and sea ports had suffered a serious setback under the UPA.
“Think of the size of corruption under UPA II. The second scam was bigger than the first and the third was even bigger than the second. They broke all records,” Swaraj said.
Quoting recent surveys that give NDA a clear edge over the UPA, the BJP also expressed hope about returning to power after the next general election. It dismissed the proposed Third Front as a “failed idea” that has been tested several times in the past.