Gadkari slams UPA over corruption, says NDA will rule in 2014

GUWAHATI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) began its two-day national executive here Saturday with party chief Nitin Gadkari launching a blistering attack on the UPA government on charges of rampant corruption, and pledged to work even harder to capture power in New Delhi in the 2014 general elections.

“Congress under the UPA-II presides over an empire of corruption with corruption constituting about three percent of the GDP,” BJP general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad told journalists quoting Gadkaris inaugural speech.

The inaugural session of the national executive was held behind closed doors at a city hotel overlooking the river Brahmaputra with about 300 national BJP leaders taking part.

The victory of Bihar has stirred and inspired the workers around the country and there is a wide-held belief now that in 2014, the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) under the leadership of the BJP would form the government, Gadkari was quoted as saying by Prasad.

Assam, West Bengal, Kerala and Pondicherry (now Puducherry) are going to polls this year and the party has taken a very serious view of the elections and going all out in winning the polls, Prasad said.

Gadkaris inaugural speech targetted the Congress party on the issue of corruption, price rise and terrorism.

The northeast also prominently figured in the speech with mention being made that it is a commonwealth of corruption in the northeast with Congress leaders of the region trying to compete with their counterparts in New Delhi, Prasad said.

Why is the Congress trying to run away from the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe. There is definitely something to hide, Gadkari was quoted as saying referring to the 2G spectrum scam.

Wrong policies and bad governance are reasons for corruption and price rise.

The BJP president also talked about the “double standards” of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government in dealing with terrorism, while expressing concern over the Maoist problem and Bangladeshi infiltration issue.

Whenever the Congress is mired in corruption cases or scams they raise the bogey of Hindu terrorism by linking the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and others. For us terrorism has no religion, Prasad said.

Gadkari also talked of building the Ram temple at Ayodhya.

Country first, party thereafter, and myself thereafter is what Nitin Gadkari said in his speech, Prasad said.

Gadkari also announced to mark Oct 21, 2011 as “day of remembrance and obligation” coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the formation of the party.

The BJP president complimented the party workers and leaders for the extraordinary achievements during the last one year of his tenure and owned up responsibility for all the shortcomings during the same period, Prasad said.

The closed door meeting is expected to continue till late Saturday with at least three important resolutions adopted.