By IANS,
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday said the president’s address to parliament “lacked direction” and failed to give any indication of the government’s resolve to check price rise.
“The president’s address is more like a DAVP (Department of Audio-Visual Publicity) advertisement, which gives a compilation of the schemes of the government. There are major challenges facing the country today. The address lacks direction on all these issues,” the party said in a statement.
The BJP said the country was burdened with the problem of price rise but the president’s address did not give any indication of the government’s resolve to tackle the issue.
The party said the address understates the challenge of internal security faced by the country due to “local modules of terrorist groups and the problem of Maoist violence generated by the Left-wing extremism”.
The party said the “oblique” reference in the address about the need for Pakistan to take effective steps to prevent terrorist activities against India was contrary to the government’s moves.
“Even though terrorist infrastructure on Pakistan’s soil continues to be used against India and the neighbouring country has refused to give an assurance that 26/11 will not be repeated, the government has embarked on foreign secretary level dialogue with it,” the party said.
Referring to the proposed talks with Pakistan, the BJP said the government should have come out with a categorical assertion that the 1994 parliament resolution about Jammu and Kashmir being an integral part of India will not be compromised.
Pointing to the government’s resolve on early passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill, the BJP hoped the promise will not meet the fate met “by the presidential addresses prepared by the UPA government on the last seven occasions.”