The Hindu : National : India must shine in villages: Advani

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 13, 2004

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National

India must shine in villages: Advani

By Prafulla Das

NUAPADA, APRIL 12. As the Bharat Uday Yatra entered Orissa through Nuapada district, one of the poorest regions in the country, the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, today blamed the Congress for the country's backwardness in various fields.

Addressing a public meeting minutes after he entered Orissa from Chhattisgarh on the 31st day of the yatra, Mr. Advani said that the Congress had failed to solve the problems facing the people living in the six lakh villages despite the party being in power for 48 years after Independence.

The country never had good governance during the Congress rule, he alleged.

In sharp contrast, the six-year rule of the NDA under the leadership of the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had become an example of good governance.

The problem of terrorism had been tackled successfully, disturbance in the North-East had been resolved to a great extent, a road network was being created across the country and the country's relationship with other countries had improved, he added.

Lambasting the Congress for criticising the `India Shining' slogan, Mr. Advani said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) never claimed that India shone in all fields. "The country will shine only when the six lakh villages shine and the people living in these villages have access to education, drinking water, pucca roads, hospitals and water for irrigation purposes. We dream of making this a reality by 2020."

The Deputy Prime Minister termed the Congress "a team without a captain." On the foreign origin of the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, he said it was common knowledge that the party had split over the issue. The question should be resolved either by the people or Parliament, he observed.

Urging the people to vote for the NDA, he asked the people to take the coming elections seriously. "Think that you are laying the foundation for building a developed India," he told the crowd.

Referring to the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, he hoped that this would prove beneficial to the States. Simultaneous polls had been held in the country till 1967 and the same formula could be adopted again if all political parties reached a consensus on the issue. "This will be good for the whole country."

When Mr. Advani crossed the Chhattigarh-Orissa border at 11.30 a.m., he was seen off by the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Raman Singh. He was welcomed by the Orissa Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, and the BJP State president, Manmohan Samal.

Mr. Advani addressed several meetings before reaching the district headquarter town of Bolangir late this evening. His yatra will come to an end in Puri on Wednesday evening.

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