PM's Office Steadily Losing Dignity, says L K Advani
Mysore, Aug 14 (IANS): Renewing his attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whom he had termed India's weakest prime minister during the last poll campaign, Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani Saturday said the office has been devalued in the last six years.
"The office of the Prime Minister is steadily losing dignity and its functioning is coming in for sarcastic comments in media columns," Advani said, addressing a huge party rally here, about 130 kms from Bangalore.
The situation has come to such a pass that "the Prime Minister cannot even independently decide on his Independence Day speech," he claimed.
The rally was held to counter the Congress campaign against the two-year-old BJP government in Karnataka, particularly over alleged illegal mining by BJP ministers, the Reddy brothers of Bellary.
The Congress concluded a 16-day, 320km 'padayatra' (march) from Bangalore to Bellary Aug 9. It was led, among others, by Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramiah.
Mysore is Siddaramaiah's political base and hence was chosen by the BJP to organise the third of the four rallies it announced to take on the Congress' campaign against the government.
The first was held at Davangere Aug 2, the second at Gulbarga Aug 5 and the fourth will be in Bellary Aug 20.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj is scheduled to address the Bellary rally.
Advani, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, party general secretary and South Bangalore Lok Sabha member H.N. Ananth Kumar and other party leaders criticised the Congress for demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into illegal mining.
Advani praised Yeddyurappa for banning export and transport of iron ore for export from Karnataka.
"He is the first chief minister to lead a delegation to the central government urging it to ban export of iron ore," Advani said.
He urged the central government to heed Yeddyurappa's plea and ban iron ore export.
Advani also attacked the Congress-led central government over rising prices of essential commodities and said burden on the 'aam admi' (the common man) was becoming unbearable.
BJP Demands Resignation of Governor
PTI
Ruling BJP in the state on Saturday mounted a frontal attack on Governor H R Bhardwaj with whom it has uneasy relations, alleging he had openly flaunted his Congress credentials and asked him to function within the framework of the Constitution.
"Bhardwaj himself says he is proud to be a Congress man... A chair should be provided to the Governor in the office of the Pradesh Congress office," state BJP President K S Eshwarappa said at a party rally here attended by party senior leader L K Advani, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and state leaders.
Attacking the Governor for declining consent to the state's Bill on banning cow slaughter and for referring it to the President for assent, he said Bhardwaj should "work within the framework of the Constitution and in accordance with the verdicts pronounced by the Supreme Court".
He said BJP would "not rest" till the law on cow sluaghter ban was implemented in the state.
Ever since occupying the gubernatorial post, Bhardwaj, a former Union Law Minster, has been openly critical of the BJP government on various issues, including illegal mining and law and order, inviting the wrath of the party.
Eswarappa also criticised on JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda for opposing the cow slaughter ban bill.
Attacking opposition Congress leader Siddaramaiah, who had led the party's recent 'Bellary Chalo padayatra' against illegal mining, Eshwarappa questioned his concern for the backward classes.
Taking on Siddaramiah in his home turf of Mysore, he sought to know about the efforts made by him for their welfare when he was the state Finance Minister for seven successive years.
He alleged Congress leaders had indulged in illegal mining for the last six decades. The ongoing Lokayukta probe into illegal mining would bring out the truth, he said.