BJP flays coalition government

New Delhi: The principal opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday slammed the coalition government for its all round failures.

The Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance government is set to celebrate its fourth anniversary in power today with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hosting a gala dinner for all lawmakers supporting his government and media at his official residence 7 Race Course Road this evening.

The BJP intends to come out with a detailed dossier about failures of the UPA government over the last four years soon, said party spokesman, Prakash Javadekar.

He listed the failure to contain inflation and the resultant price rise, agriculture crisis, increase in terror incidents and brake on infrastructure developments as four major failures of the Manmohan Singh government, adding these were having detrimental impact on the common man which was the theme of the Congress party's campaigning during 2004 general elections.

Incidentally, the Marxists who sustain the UPA government with its outside support are slated to review performance of the government tomorrow.

They are equally unhappy with the government over its failures. There are suggestions that they may withdraw support to the government and allow it to complete the remaining one year in power as a minority government by abstaining from voting if the opposition brings in a motion of no-confidence.

Javadekar said, "The situation has come to such a pass that India which was exporting agricultural products has started importing grains, pulses and edible oil to meet the shortfall."

According to him, the government's failure on agriculture front has led to sufferings of both farmers and the consumers.

He also listed failure of the UPA government to complete the remaining 10 per cent work on the Golden Quadrilateral Express Highway, connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata as one of the biggest failures of the government. The project was started by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government before it lost power in 2004 general elections.

"The base of the ruling coalition has shrunk over the past four years," Javadekar said. He pointed out defeats in Kerala, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Meghalaya where the Congress party was ousted from power during the past four years to prove his point and added that the UPA had fared badly even in non-Congress ruled states like Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand during this period.

"BJP will come out with its structures formal response on the four years of misrule shortly," Javadekar added.