M A I N   N E W S

Cong releases ‘chargesheet’ against NDA rule
‘No Atal factor in Lok Sabha poll’
Anita Katyal
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 11
The Congress today formally set the tone for the Lok Sabha elections when it opened its first line of attack against the NDA government.

In what promises to be the party’s poll mantra, its leaders, stationed in four different cities, unveiled a 55-page chargesheet titled “Vajpayee government: A saga of sins, scams and shames”, listing the failures of the NDA regime.

Although the Congress has been highlighting these issues periodically, this is the first time that the party has collated them in the form of a compendium. Copies of this chargesheet will be distributed to party workers for their use in the election campaign.

In addition to targeting the NDA government for its failure to deliver, the document has not spared Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee either. As far as the Congress is concerned, there is “no factor like the Atal factor.”

A special section titled “Vajpayee’s Flip-Flops”, gives details about the contradictory statements made by him on subjects ranging from Ayodhya to Gujarat and Narendra Modi to communal tensions in the Dangs and on employment. In fact, the Congress has held the Prime Minister responsible for all the failures of his government.

“The Prime Minister is the key person in a parliamentary system. If his Cabinet colleagues have been charged with misdemeanour, the Prime Minister cannot escape his responsibility,” said senior AICC leader Pranab Mukherjee after he released copies of the chargesheet along with Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Giving details about the document, Mr Mukherjee pointed out that one part of booklet focused on the scams during the NDA rule, the second half dealt with the regime’s failure to keep any of its poll promises.

Stating that the NDA government is “immersed deep in corruption,” the document gives details about the Tehelka scandal, the Judeo case, the petrol pump and UTI scams and corruption in defence deals. Citing the cases of BALCO and Centuar Hotel, Mr Mukherjee said, “We have pointed out how public sector assets were squandered by this government at throwaway prices.”

The document has countered the NDA’s “India Shining” campaign by focussing on the mounting unemployment in the country, the worsening condition of farmers and the escalating prices of essential commodities.

“They are claiming India is shining but we have cited an instance of one district of Anantpur where 2,009 farmers committed suicide because of being under debts,” Mr Mukherjee said.

The Congress leader also took on the Prime Minister for his claims on creation of jobs. “Where have these jobs been created...in which sector? The economic survey shows that there has been a loss of 10 lakh jobs in the organised sector during the past five years,” he stated.

Manmohan releases ‘chargesheet’ in Mumbai
Tribune News Service

Mumbai, March 11
Former Finance Minister Manmohan Singh and Maharashtra Chief Minister and other senior Congress officials released a ‘chargesheet’ against the ruling NDA in Mumbai today.

The 55-page booklet titled ‘Vajpayee Government: A saga of sins, scams and shame’ contains a list of allegations documented by the media in the past five years. Dr Manmohan Singh and other Congress leaders said the booklet would be circulated among voters to educate them about the scams undertaken by the NDA government in the past five years.

Apart from Tehelka, the coffin scam, alleged misuse of funds for the Kargil war, the UTI scandal, the petrol pump scandal, etc have received detailed analysis in the booklet.

Dr Manmohan Singh said the Congress would also be focusing on the ill-advised reforms undertaken by the NDA. Dr Manmohan Singh, who himself is seen as the country’s original proponent of the free market, said the Congress believed in reforms with a human face.

The Congress, he said, would strongly emphasise “on the creation of jobs in the formal and informal sector”. He further added that the party would concentrate on healthcare and education for all.