By IANS,
New Delhi : Calling the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) as an “Ulta Pulta (topsy turvy) Alliance”, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday said the ruling coalition “has collaped like a pack of cards”.
Hours after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh questioned Janata Dal-United leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s secular claims after sharing a dais with Narendra Modi, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said the UPA was a divided house with confused leaders.
“Manmohan Singh looked pessimistic and defeated. The campaign of Congress lacks maturity and no one knows who is saying what. UPA is Ulta Pulta Alliance,” Prasad told reporters.
Earlier in the day, Manmohan Singh told reporters in Ludhiana that “there is no doubt Nitish Kumar professes to be a secular leader”. However, he said, “a doubt arose” after Nitish Kumar and BJP’s Narendra Modi shook hands in a show of camaraderie at an election rally Sunday.
But Prasad said the Congress leaders were confused, with some praising Nitish Kumar and others criticising him.
“Rahul Gandhi praised Nitish Kumar. He said he (Nitish Kumar) did good work, Sheila Dikshit said the same. But Manmohan Singh said he didn’t do good work and didn’t spend the money the centre gave him. The PM said Nitish is an incompetent chief minister, Rahul says the opposite,” Prasad said.
“It’s not in the DNA of Congress to run a coalition. It believes in the divine right to rule,” he added.
Prasad said the UPA had “collapsed” and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) “has emerged as the front runner with hope and self confidence”.
“The UPA is an alliance which is non existent and filled with pessimism. I would like to remind the prime minister to look inwards, your house has collapsed like a pack of cards.”
Prasad also criticised the Congress-led government for rising prices.
“Price rise is a burning issue, but the UPA government has no solution to that. What good work of Manmohan Singh are they talking about in the 2009 elections,” Prasad said.
“The aam aadmi (common man) has been fooled,” he added.