UPA government has betrayed people, says Sushma Swaraj
New Delhi, June 1 (IANS) Accusing the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) of betraying the people, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj Wednesday said her party will bring out a people's report card to highlight the failures of the government.
“The government has betrayed people of India... a report card from people will give its true account,” Sushma Swaraj said at a public meeting organised here by the party “on two years of failure of the UPA government”.
Hitting out at the government, she said three MPs, including a senior leader of the Congress, belonging to the ruling coalition were under arrest in corruption cases.
The government should not have celebrated UPA-II's second anniversary May 22, she said.
“If they had any shame, they would not have organised a function to celebrate,” she said.
Sushma Swaraj said the UPA government had faced one scandal after the other. “If there is one word to describe the government, it is 'failed',” she said.
She said prices of essential commodities were rising and farmers were committing suicides.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha also took exception to rights activist Binayak Sen being made a member of a panel to deliberate on the next five year plan.
She said while the US had killed its wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan, the Indian government had resumed dialogue with the neighbouring country though it had not done enough to bring to book those accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
Referring to the promised food security bill of the government, she said making laws was not enough if their implementation was weak. “People's stomachs can't be filled just by making laws,” she said.
The BJP leader also opposed the diversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes, saying it could lead to shortfall in production of foodgrains.
She said that the right to information was initiated by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government though it was passed by the UPA.
Referring to 2G spectrum scam, Sushma Swaraj said that arrests of MPs would not have been made if the Supreme Court was not monitoring the case.
Referring to th controversy over the UPA members of parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) rejecting its “report” on the 2G specturm scam, she accused the government of denigrating institutions.
Party leader Ananth Kumar said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should have started probe against Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit of the Congress in the Commonwealth Games scams.
“If (Suresh) Kalmadi is in jail, why is Sheila out,” he said.
Attacking the Congress, he said if Dikshit was a “statue of corruption, (party chief)Sonia Gandhi was the Ganga of corruption”.
He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had been giving weak defences for the scandals rocking the government.
Party leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra said that a charge sheet will be brought out against the Dikshit government.
He said the party's upcoming national executive meeting in Lucknow will give direction to a people's movement to oust the UPA government.