Manmohan a 'caretaker' of PM post: BJP

Continuing its campaign of terming Manmohan Singh as a “weak” prime minister, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today described him as a “glorified caretaker of the post”. The criticism came a day after Congress leaders — Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi — had criticised LK Advani, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, questioning his role as the home minister over the Kandahar plane hijack episode in 1999.

BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad described Singh as a “caretaker who was keeping the seat warm for someone else”. He asked the Congress to explain whether Rahul Gandhi was its real prime ministerial choice and Manmohan Singh was being used as a mask so that Gandhi is not subjected to public scrutiny.

“The country of more than one billion people today does not need a stopgap, caretaker or retainer in the office of the prime minister. It wants a person who can lead from the front,” Prasad said.

However, Prasad alleged that the “concerted and orchestrated verbal attacks” by Congress leaders on the leadership and credentials of senior BJP leader Advani were meant to divert the attention from real issues facing the people.

Prasad said while “the security threat by terrorists and the Taliban, increasing unemployment and soaring prices of essential commodities” were the real issues currently facing the nation, the Congress party was deliberately running away from offering any response to these.

The BJP also questioned Manmohan Singh as to why the food prices had remained high even in the face of a bumper harvest. It also asked why decades-old terrorism in Assam — a state represented by the PM in the Rajya Sabha — was still on the rise.

Prasad also asked Congress President Sonia Gandhi to explain what she meant by saying that the country faced a threat from within. “She must explain whether she was referring to SIMI, Indian Mujjahideen or the nationalistic forces like the BJP,” he added.

Campaigning for the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls on April 16 — to be held in 124 constituencies in 17 states — ended today.