New Delhi, March 3
Describing the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government as the most corrupt regime the country has seen since independence, the BJP today sought to position the saffron party-led NDA as the only credible alternative to the ruling coalition for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

In its political resolution adopted at the party’s national Council meet, the BJP came down heavily on the UPA government, saying big scams, scandalous corruption, instances of bribery, kickbacks and gross financial irregularity appeared and reappeared with such an alarming regularity that it had become difficult even to keep a count of the same.

The political resolution, introduced by party’s chief spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said, was endorsed by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj who pointed out that the party would face a litmus test in six states before the Lok Sabha polls. Exhorting partymen to stand united and be actively involved in the coming times, Swaraj said the BJP has to not just retain power in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, but also wrest control from the Congress in Rajasthan and Delhi, besides bringing back "stable" governments in Karnataka and Jharkhand which have suffered from instability in the past.

New Delhi, March 3
As he targeted the Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family for all the ills afflicting the country, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi clearly emerged as the tallest leader of the BJP that concluded its three-day meet here today. There was the a growing clamour within the party’s rank and file to nominate Modi as the party’s nominee for the prime ministership.

On his part, Modi chose his words quite carefully, avoiding making any direct reference to his prime ministerial ambition, though it was quite clear from his nearly 50-minute extempore speech that he considered himself the most suitable candidate for the country’s top political job.

Modi’s popularity among the party’s top office-bearers from across the country was quite evident as the crowd at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium broke into applause and raised slogans in his favour as soon as he got up to deliver the address.

With senior party leaders, including party patriarch LK Advani, hearing him with rapt attention, the Gujarat “strongman” was at pains to emphasise that the candidate for the Prime Minister’s post was not an issue in the party.

He accused the Congress of sacrificing interests of the nation to serve the interests of one family. Advani’s own speech towards the fag end of the meet was relegated to the background with the spotlight remaining firmly on the Gujarat CM.

Modi was unsparing in his attack on the Nehru-Gandhi family while heaping praise on late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and the current President Pranab Mukherjee, both of whom belonged to the Congress. Shastri united farmers and changed the face of the country, while Mukherjee would definitely have been a better choice for the prime ministership than the present incumbent Manmohan Singh. “But Mukherjee was not allowed to become the PM since Congressmen were worried what would happen to the family if he were to occupy the post.”

Comparing the Congress with termite, he said, “The country is sinking. The poor are under the burden of price rise. We cannot even feel if there is a government at the Centre or not.”

While drawing attention to the governance formula he has adopted in Gujarat, Modi was also appreciative of the work being done by the BJP governments in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Goa.

“Freeing the nation from the Congress rule would be an act of patriotism. It would be a task as great as that our freedom fighters did,” he said.

In his speech, Advani claimed the popular mood in the country was of anger and revulsion against the Congress-led government. “Many factors are feeding this mood, but the chief amongst them is the firm belief among all sections of society that this is the most corrupt government in the history of Independent India.”

He said the BJP leaders and workers could take pride in the fact that they belonged to a party that valued and promoted internal democracy and not to a dynastic party.