The Hindu : Advani hits out at Congress, Communists

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 11, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Advani hits out at Congress, Communists

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MARCH 10. The Deputy Prime Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader, L.K. Advani, has lashed out at the Congress and Communists for joining hands to attack the BJP and the "Bharat Uday Yatra" and appealed to the electorate to "help the lotus bloom" in the State.

Addressing a public meeting at the Putharikandam Maidan here today, Mr. Advani, who started his Yatra from Kanyakumari this morning, expressed surprise over the statements made by the Communists on the lines of the Congress that his 33-day road-show would create communal tension and clashes in the country. "The Congress is facing a poverty of leadership. It is surprising to see that the Communists, who have intellectuals in it, also reacted the same way. Let them introspect and ponder what is their track record since the days of independence."

Launching a scathing attack on the Communists, the BJP leader criticised their justification of the Chinese aggression and support to the Emergency. While the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government at the Centre is hailed for its good track record on the development front during the last six years and the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, for his good governance the world over, it is only the Congress, supported by the Communists, which is opposing them. "They are trying to raise some kind of a communal issue by creating a vote-bank," he added.

Mr. Advani said the Marxist theory, which had influenced the youth and half the world once, had vanished into thin air. It is becoming irrelevant and getting confined to two corners of the country now -- Kerala and West Bengal.

Kerala, which has immense human resource potential, natural resources, high literacy and major achievements to its credit in various fields, has not made much progress compared to other States. "The political system in the State has become cramped and the two alternatives are unequal to the task of undertaking development and providing good governance. The people should find a third force," Mr. Advani said.

Pointing out that it was not easy for the BJP to make headway in the State, Mr. Advani said the party had succeeded in places where it had no representation once. "The year 2004 should mark a new beginning for Kerala. Let the lotus bloom in Kerala," he said. Mr. Advani appealed to the electorate of the capital city to elect the BJP candidate and help the lotus bloom from other constituencies as well.

Asserting that there was hardly any doubt that the next Prime Minister is Mr. Vajpayee, Mr. Advani said the NDA Government had made India a nuclear power, achieved turnaround in Jammu and Kashmir and North-East and had made the economy stronger.

"We have provided good governance and development as promised in 1997. The BJP will make the country stronger, a developed country by 2020 and a super power if it is given the mandate in the forthcoming elections".

Mr. Advani said the response to the first day of the Yatra in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where the party was not that strong, had been stupendous. The BJP leader thanked the people of both States for the immense and enthusiastic response to the Yatra.

At the function, Mr. Advani also released the cassettes brought by the party election committee and the Bharitiya Janata Yuva Morcha. His wife Kamala Advani and daughter Pratibha Advani attended the function. The Union Minister of State for Defence, O. Rajagopal, the BJP State president, P. S. Sreedharan Pillai, and the former State president, C.K. Padmanabhan, spoke on the occasion.

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