Beechiwara (Rajasthan): Charging Congress with having no understanding of the country, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani today (Apr 1, 2004) ridiculed the party's claims of development.

"How can a party that has no understanding of the vast country ensure its development?" Advani asked, addressing a public meeting in Beechiwara during his 'Bharat Uday Yatra'.

"There is a lot of difference between present Congress and the party that existed during Independence Movement. Congress of Jawahar Lal Nehru and Vallabh Bhai Patel was the party of people of simple living, but the present Congress is the party of people living luxurious lives who have made it a personal organisation of an individual," he said.

"Congress had no priority for solving people's problem and had no will to do something good for the country. That is why it failed to make India a developed country during its long rule," he said.

On the other hand, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government, headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had a will to do good work under an able leadership and that is why it has been able to change the complexion of the country, the Deputy Prime Minister said.

Advani assured the tribal populace of attending to their problems in true earnest.

People should vote in the coming elections not just for giving power to any party, but for changing the future of the country, he said.

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who received Advani on Gujarat-Rajasthan border this morning at Ratanpur, also addressed the meeting.