Tuesday, May 24 2005 13:04 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Opposition NDA (National Democratic Alliance) today (May 24, 2005) released a 'report card' on UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government's one year in office, charging it with denigrating constitutional institutions and questioning its policies on internal security.

"In the one year it has been in power, important, vital constitutional institutions have been devalued and denigrated. Look at Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh), how his office has been devalued," BJP president L K Advani told a press conference in New Delhi.

"In most of the economic policies, the principal party in the Government and the principal allies are at loggerheads and fight against each other. What kind of coalition is it," he said, pointing out sharp differences between the Left parties and the Government.

To a question, Advani said, "I praise the Prime Minister as a person. He is a good person, but he is a weak Prime Minister."

Charging the Government with devaluing the constitutional institutions, Advani pointed out Railway Minister Laloo Prasad's remarks against the Election Commission.

"I should mention the remarks made by a Union Minister against the Election Commission. Had a Minister in the (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee Government spoken of the Election Commission in such a manner, he would have been out of the Government the very next day," he said.

Pointing it out as "another major failure" of the UPA Government, the Leader of Opposition said, "The internal security situation deteriorated after this Government came to power. The very first day in power, it said, regarding the naxal problem, let the States deal with it.

On the contrary, the Vajpayee Government had emphasised on creating a common code for all the affected States to deal with the problem."

'UPA a strange coalition'

Calling the UPA a "strange coalition", Advani said "anti-BJPism" was the "sole sustainer" of the Government.

He said while the Prime Minister gave 6 out of 10 marks for his one-year rule, the Leftists gave the Government zero out of ten. Because of the Left parties, Congress got no seats in Kerala in the last General elections, Advani said.

He said, in contrast, the biggest achievement of Vajpayee's six-year rule was how to run a good coalition, which turned out to be truly representative of the whole country.

On the dissolution of Bihar Assembly, he said the matter will be taken to the court. "People have always given the right verdict," he said about the forthcoming elections.

Advani was addressing the media after release of the 'report card' in the form of a booklet, which enlists the Government's "failures" in five chapters - Dynastic Rule, Devaluation of the Prime Minister's Post, Internal Security in Peril, Promises Unfulfilled, Mistakes in Foreign Policy.

'Nothing worth to talk about'

NDA Convenor George Fernandes said there was "nothing worth" to talk about the performance of the UPA in its one year in power. The UPA's main aim was to "insult" the NDA leaders, he said.

Fernandes said the steps taken by the Government in Bihar makes it even more clear that the Congress and the UPA did not believe in having an "Opposition."

"We are not experiencing this for the first time. From Indira Gandhi's time, we have gone through such experiences. But at least, there was some civility shown to us at that time," he said.

Accusing the Government of taking the support of "lies" in every field, Fernandes pointed out the Phukan Commission as an example. "First, the Government hesitated in placing the report in Parliament. They said it was not the full report. But when it was brought in Parliament, it was on the last day of the session so that there could be no debate," he said.

Fernandes also charged the UPA with promoting dynastic rule, rattling off a number of schemes named after late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. "Dynastic rule will only encourage corruption," he remarked.

The NDA Convenor also spoke about "misuse of Governors" in Goa, Jharkhand and Bihar.