NEW Delhi, March 13 (PTI): Senior BJP leader L K Advani on Sunday said that he felt the demolition of the Babri mosque in 1992 had “badly dented” the credibility of his party. Recalling a newspaper article he had written a fortnight after the demolition, he said that while describing the genesis of evolution of Ayodhya movement, he had said that the day the disputed structure was pulled down was the saddest day of his life. In the latest post on his blog, Advani said that some colleagues had criticised him for that statement saying, “Why he was being apologetic about the development?”
Advani said he had replied, “I am not at all apologetic. Indeed, I am proud of my association with the Ayodhya movement. But I am extremely sad that our party’s credibility has been badly dented by the happenings of December 6.” He recalled that he had written in his article that organisations involved in the movement could be faulted for not being able to judge the impatience of the people participating in it. “I felt sad that a meticulously drawn up plan of action, where under the UP government was steadily marching forward towards discharging its mandate regarding temple construction without violating any law or disregarding any court order had gone awry (because of the demolition).”
“If the exercise contemplated had now been short-circuited in a totally unforeseen manner, the organisations involved in the movement can be faulted for not being able to judge the impatience of the people participating in the movement, but they were certainly not responsible for what happened that day,” Advani recalled as having stated in the article.
Advani said he had replied, “I am not at all apologetic. Indeed, I am proud of my association with the Ayodhya movement. But I am extremely sad that our party’s credibility has been badly dented by the happenings of December 6.” He recalled that he had written in his article that organisations involved in the movement could be faulted for not being able to judge the impatience of the people participating in it. “I felt sad that a meticulously drawn up plan of action, where under the UP government was steadily marching forward towards discharging its mandate regarding temple construction without violating any law or disregarding any court order had gone awry (because of the demolition).”
“If the exercise contemplated had now been short-circuited in a totally unforeseen manner, the organisations involved in the movement can be faulted for not being able to judge the impatience of the people participating in the movement, but they were certainly not responsible for what happened that day,” Advani recalled as having stated in the article.
UPA government’s credibility in shambles: Advani
New Delhi, March 13 (PTI): Stepping up his attack on the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) appointment controversy, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani on Sunday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh government’s credibility is in a “shambles“. In a posting on his blog, the BJP leader alleged that the government has “totally abdicated its responsibility in matters of pre-empting wrongdoing by scamsters“.
Maintaining that credibility is the most important attribute of an individual or an organisation, Mr. Advani, who has often targeted Manmohan Singh as a “weak Prime Minister,” said, “Today the Manmohan Singh Government’s credibility is in a shambles.” Noting “whether it is the case of P.J. Thomas or A Raja, or Hasan Ali, or Commonwealth Games officials, it is repeatedly the Supreme Court that has had to take action, rather than the government”, the BJP leader said the incidents have highlighted that “ethical deficit” in the UPA government was “far more serious than its governance deficit“.
Mr. Advani also referred to Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s remark almost a month back that there was a governance and ethical deficit in governance that needed to be taken serious note of. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the Home Minister had said, “I think we should take serious note of the concerns expressed by captains of industry and business. There is indeed a governance deficit in some areas and perhaps there is also an ethical deficit.” Mr. Advani said President Pratibha Patil had to officially cancel the order appointing Mr. Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner last Thursday, “perhaps because even after the Supreme Court quashed the CVC’s appointment in its order declared Thomas’ appointment as ‘non-est’ in law, the officer had not relinquished charge.”
Mr. Advani had on Saturday said that it is not Manmohan Singh but the office of Prime Minister that is lacking integrity and suffers from a “governance deficit”. He had also attacked Singh for blaming “compulsions of coalition politics” for anomalies in the 2G spectrum allocation.
Maintaining that credibility is the most important attribute of an individual or an organisation, Mr. Advani, who has often targeted Manmohan Singh as a “weak Prime Minister,” said, “Today the Manmohan Singh Government’s credibility is in a shambles.” Noting “whether it is the case of P.J. Thomas or A Raja, or Hasan Ali, or Commonwealth Games officials, it is repeatedly the Supreme Court that has had to take action, rather than the government”, the BJP leader said the incidents have highlighted that “ethical deficit” in the UPA government was “far more serious than its governance deficit“.
Mr. Advani also referred to Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s remark almost a month back that there was a governance and ethical deficit in governance that needed to be taken serious note of. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the Home Minister had said, “I think we should take serious note of the concerns expressed by captains of industry and business. There is indeed a governance deficit in some areas and perhaps there is also an ethical deficit.” Mr. Advani said President Pratibha Patil had to officially cancel the order appointing Mr. Thomas as Central Vigilance Commissioner last Thursday, “perhaps because even after the Supreme Court quashed the CVC’s appointment in its order declared Thomas’ appointment as ‘non-est’ in law, the officer had not relinquished charge.”
Mr. Advani had on Saturday said that it is not Manmohan Singh but the office of Prime Minister that is lacking integrity and suffers from a “governance deficit”. He had also attacked Singh for blaming “compulsions of coalition politics” for anomalies in the 2G spectrum allocation.
