New Delhi: Preparing for a long-drawn offensive against the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government, the Opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) today (June 2, 2004) lambasted its Common Minimum Programme (CMP) saying it "fully reflected the confusion and opportunism that define the new Government".

Reacting to the CMP almost a week after its release, NDA convener George Fernandes and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh took the Congress-led coalition Government to task on issues ranging from agriculture to Ayodhya and POTA to WTO.

"The CMP is completely silent on how it is going to raise resources for many of its grandiose plans. Its cut and paste approach is a sure recipe for chaos and confusion which will have a direct bearing on the common man," said a document, "UPA Government's CMP -A Prescription for Regression", circulated to the media at a joint news conference.

Pointing out that both external and internal security do not even figure in the "Six Basic Principles" for Governance as stated in the CMP preamble, Singh said, "It either reflects absence of thought or that there is no unanimity of view."