NEW DELHI, February 20: Continuing his tirade against Congress's main campaigner Sonia Gandhi, veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee has accused her of wielding unbridled power without accountability, saying it was manifestation of a trend which was not in the interest of either the country or the Congress."As the Congress president, Sitaram Kesri is, at least, accountable to the party rank and file. To whom is Sonia Gandhi accountable?" he asked while addressing a rally at Lucknow today. "She owed an explanation to the people of the country on this count," he added.
Later in the day, in his election speech on Doordarshan, Vajpayee said the choice before the people was "either the bumpy road of political instability and chaos or political stability and prosperity".
The mid-term poll, according to him, was the end-result of the politics of opportunism practised by the United Front (UF) and the Congress. "We have seen the weakening of our institutions. What we have not seen isgovernance. This in a sense has been India's tragedy for the past 50 years," he observed.
On the eve of the 1996 elections, the country, he pointed out, had a Congress regime that was "morally rudderless" and "corrupt" and the situation had now been made worse by "the follies of the UF".
"If the task of setting right the wrongs was daunting in 1996, it is doubly so today," Vajpayee said.
The BJP leader said his party believed in the equality of all faiths as it was part of India's civilisational consciousness and urged the minority communities to "judge us by our performance in the states where BJP and its allies are in power where we have kept our promise to protect their lives, dignity and honour".
He said the BJP would not compromise on India's internal and external security and that a "moment comes when the right choice can change the course of a nation's history. That moment has arrived for India".
The BJP, if voted to power at the Centre, would give a clean and transparent Government withequal emphasis on stability and progress, Vajpayee said, adding he would not ask for a second term if he failed to keep the promises.
Meanwhile, the BJP today also accused Congress President Sitaram Kesri of following a "devious hidden agenda" with regard to the Coimbatore blasts. "He is diverting attention from those who were responsible for the blasts and attacking those who were the targets," said BJP national executive member Arun Jaitley.
Attacking Kesri for his "bizarre" statements on the blasts -- that the RSS was behind them -- Jaitley said Kesri's statements were the latest illustration of a party pursuing votebank politics. "BJP President LK Advani was the obvious target of the blast. Instead of condemning the blast, Kesri is indulging in diversionary tactics."
"Dynastic" role
NANDED: Congress star campaigner Sonia Gandhi yesterday said she has decided to campaign for the party for the coming Lok Sabha elections to continue the tradition of the Nehru-Gandhi family of servingthe country.
Addressing a campaign meeting here for Bhaskarrao Patil Khatgaonkar, the Congress nominee from Nanded and son-in-law of former Union Minister S B Chavan, she alleged that during the tenure of the BJP and the United Front, divisive forces and regionalism had taken centre-stage.
"Due to the presence of these factors, India is passing through a delicate phase. Only Congress can provide a stable Government to save the country from the crisis," she added.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
