Advani: PM a non-leader, 'Kremlinising' politics

FIERY ATTACK: Advani described the PM as a 'weak' 'non-leader' and attacked the Left for 'blackmailing' the UPA.

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Keywords: UPA, Left

New Delhi: BJP's prime minister-in-waiting, LK Advani, set the tone for a fierce political battle ahead on Tuesday by lashing out at Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi for what he called 'Kremlinisation of Indian politics' in making the Left parties an important player in the nation's polity.

After his ratification as the BJP's PM-in-waiting by the party's National Council on the last day of the party's core group meeting in the national capital, Advani was at his aggressive best. And none of the BJP's opponents escaped his wrath.

Targeting BJP's favourite whipping boy, Manmohan Singh, Advani said the UPA Government was 'tottering' as it is headed by a 'non-leader' Prime Minister, 'taking orders from 10, Janpath'.

"The Prime Minister is at best only a chief executive officer, executing day to day governance on behalf of the extra-constitutional centre of power. The 7 Race Course is not as important as 10 Janpath."

Criticising the PM for 'taking diktats from the extra-constitutional authority', Advani said: "The UPA's model of governance is repugnant to parliamentary democracy."

Targetting the Left parties, the main prop of the UPA Government, Advani said the Communists had never stood for national interests, be it in Independence struggle in 1940s when they sided with the British, or in 1962 war with China and in wars against Pakistan.

Advani's broadside didn't end there. He clearly exhibited the BJP's frustration against the Left parties for providing oxygen to the UPA Government.

"No party has given such place to the Communists as the Congress has done. They have give the 'veto power' to these forces and allowed them to apply brakes as this government had done. This is like Kremlinisation of Indian politics,'' Advani said.

He observed that while the Communists did support Indira Gandhi, but she had only 'used them' whenever she needed.

And after the ripping session, Advani showered praise on BJP's new prince Narendra Modi. "Modi's victory is the triumph of good governance over votebank politics," he said.

And then, in an obvious reference to Sonia Gandhi, Advani said: "If some parties in India wished to be guided by foreign-born ideologies and foreign-born leadership, they will certainly realise the limitation of doing so."