By IANS,
New Delhi : Putting the prime minister in the direct line of fire, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Wednesday said Manmohan Singh was “neither able nor trying to enforce probity” in his government.
“It is now beyond doubt that the prime minister is neither able nor trying to enforce probity in his government,” Advani told the annual conclave of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.
Following the admission by Shipping, Road and Transport Minister T.R. Baalu that he had used his position to expedite gas allocation to his sons’ companies, Advani had said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was “most corrupt”.
Reiterating his stand, the opposition leader said: “It is now common knowledge that the UPA government is by far the most corrupt in Indian history. The prime minister is exhibiting the same helplessness that he earlier did when asked to act against the tainted ministers in his cabinet.”
When the UPA government came to power in 2004, the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had stalled parliament proceedings for days, demanding the removal of six tainted ministers from the UPA cabinet.
Referring to Manmohan Singh’s call Tuesday for “nationally accepted norms of governance”, Advani said: “Neither the minister (Baalu) nor the prime minister is following any such norm.”
Confident of the NDA’s victory in the 2009 general elections, Advani said:” I can say with full confidence that with each passing month, the BJP and the NDA are emerging as the real alternative.”