By IANS,
Bangalore : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has “consciously misled” the country on the India-US nuclear deal and charged his government with failure to contain terrorism and rising prices.
“The manner in which the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government has lost the faith of the people over the last four and a half years clearly indicates that the people have made up their minds for change… the future will be ours,” BJP president Rajnath Singh said inaugurating the party’s national executive meeting here.
He called upon party workers to work tirelessly to make senior party leader L.K. Advani prime minister by winning the Lok Sabha polls, due early next year.
“Advaniji is not only a ray of hope for all of us but the entire country also expectantly looks up at him,” Rajnath Singh said to applause from the around 250 delegates attending the three-day meet at the swank Chancery Pavilion hotel on Residency Road.
In his 12-page prepared speech, Rajnath Singh dwelt mainly on the shortcomings in the India-US nuclear deal, the problem of terrorism, rising prices, the row over land allotment to the Amarnath Shrine Board in Jammu and Kashmir, forthcoming elections to several state assemblies in the north and the Lok Sabha polls, the UPA’s foreign policy “failures”, the Ram Setu controversy and briefly touched on the crisis in agriculture, problems of north-eastern states and the flood ravage in Bihar.
Referring to the reported statement of US President George Bush that promise of assured nuclear fuel supply to India under the nuclear deal is not legally binding, the BJP chief said this news had shaken every Indian.
“The revelations made in the letter written by US President George Bush have now clearly proved the apprehensions that the BJP has continuously raised, that by signing the agreement India’s nuclear sovereignty would be undermined,” Rajnath Singh said.
“It has also proved that concealing of facts was not done by the US government but by the government of india.
“The prime minister consciously misled the country, all the political parties and the Indian parliament on the issue,” Rajnath Singh said. He said his party would review the deal if it comes to power.
Rajnath Singh told the delegates that Advani was the prime ministerial candidate with the consent of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
“Advaniji will definitely become the prime minister of the country,” he said.
“We will rest only after forming our governments in the states where elections are due and at the centre after the general elections due early next year. We have to expedite the process of constituting booth committees in all assembly and parliamentary constituencies for the upcoming elections,” the BJP president said.
He conveyed Vajpayee’s blessings to the delegates and regrets for not being present on a significant occasion.
Earlier, the party’s Karnataka state unit president D.V. Sadananda Gowda welcomed the delegates to the meeting that is being held amid tight security and fanfare.
Besides Rajnath Singh and Advani, vice-presidents Venkaiah Naidu, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, senior party leader Murali Manohar Joshi and chief ministers of BJP states were felicitated and crowned with the Mysore headgear (petha).
Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa made the opening remarks and gave a brief account of his government’s performance over the last 100 days. The party leaders hailed Yeddyurappa for having brought the party to power for the first time in the state as well as in south India.
The absence of Vajpayee was conspicuous though his countenance figures prominently on the massive canvass along with other leaders, forming the backdrop.
Hours before the meeting began, the venue had been cordoned off and traffic regulated through the busy thoroughfare to prevent choking, a common feature in the IT hub.
The city police deployed about 300 policemen in and around the venue, which was sanitised and cleared after a dog squad sniffed around the place.
About 500 party cadres and members of the Sangh parivar had been pressed into service to coordinate activities related to the meeting.
The venue and surrounding areas have been decked up with the party’s saffron-coloured flags, its lotus symbol, bunting, banners and huge cut-outs of its prominent leaders.
The executive is expected to finalise the party’s strategy for the Lok Sabha polls. It will adopt resolutions on political, economic, foreign policy and social situations.
On Saturday, Rajnath Singh and Advani will address the ‘Vijay Sankalp Yatra’ (Victory affirmation rally). The executive is expected to wind up Sunday afternoon.