New Delhi: Asserting that the ruling coalition had failed to reply to the Opposition charges during the debate on the no-confidence motion, leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi on August 19 said the Vajpayee government had no explanation for its failure on all fronts.

"Even after over 20 hours of debate, the government has failed to properly answer the charges… They can try to hide their omissions and commissions, but they have to reply to the people," Gandhi said replying to a marathon debate on the no-confidence motion moved by her.

She said while all members in the House had taken an oath in accordance with the Constitution, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition was attacking all constitutional institutions "which is dangerous for democracy and the country".

Refuting Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani's charge that she had directed all Congress Chief Ministers not to implement Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), Gandhi said, "I challenge him to prove his charge."

Stating that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had wondered why the motion had been brought by the Opposition at this juncture, she said, "There are a number of such instances earlier when no-confidence motions were brought in the House to expose the failure of the government and not to replace them."

The Congress president said such motions had to be worded according to the Opposition liking and not to that of the Prime Minister.

PTI