BJP aims to attack UPA’s scam record to win in 2014 (Night Lead)

GUWAHATI - The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) two-day national executive meeting concluded Sunday with a clear message that the party was eyeing power in the 2014 parliamentary elections by going hammer and tongs against the Congress-led UPA government over corruption and scandals rocking the country.

“I would say 2010 is a turning point in the history of independent India and we need to ensure that we are able to capitalise on this (corruptions and scams during the United Progressive Alliance-2) and eye for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections,” BJP veteran L.K. Advani said in his speech that marked the formal conclusion of the two-day national executive here.

“But the challenge ahead of us is that we must keep our image clean and clear so that no temptations or other things can taint us as we go to the people seeking the mandate.”

With the message of capturing power in New Delhi very clear, the BJP meet adopted three important resolutions - political, economic, and one on the northeast.

From Bofors to the 2G spectrum episode, the Commonwealth Games scam, Adarsh Housing scandal, besides corruption in Congress-ruled Assam and other northeastern states were among those mentioned in the political resolution.

“In 2010, today’s prime minister gave us a scandal a day,” the resolution on political affairs read.

“The Congress, particularly its first family (the Gandhis) is faced with the power of truth. Truth has the habit of coming up at convenient times. Misusing the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) to undermine this case (Bofors), each time and at every level, the party ensured that (Italian businessman Ottavio) Quattrocchi was enabled to flee the country.”

BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters: “The year 2010 was a year of corruption and 2011 is going to be the year of cover ups.”

The high-point of the political resolution is the BJP’s war against corruption - a month long nationwide campaign beginning Jan 20 and titled ‘Clean India of corruption’ with party workers reaching out to all blocks in the country, followed by leaders going to the villages in March to highlight the myriad corruption charges and scams in the country.

“We shall hold rallies throughout the length and breadth of India in order to draw people’s attention to the rampant corruption of the Congress party and also seek legal recourse to justice for getting the looters punished and to get back the ill-gotten wealth from the various tax havens abroad,” BJP general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad told journalists about the resolutions.

Among the other resolutions include mobilising the “vibrant internet community” to build awareness on the “corruption malice”.

The economic resolution dealt with issues relating to price rise of essentials.

“To highlight the failures of the government in addressing issues facing the common man - primarily the failure to control food prices,” the resolution read.

The first day saw a resolution adopted on the northeast - with special focus on Assam’s problems like Bangladeshi infiltration, security issues, insurgency menace and corruption.

The two-day meet ended on a high note with top party leaders, flanked by National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies like the Shiv Sena, Akali Dal, and the Janata Dal-United addressing a massive public rally against corruption in the city.

“We are sure the issue of corruption would become a national political issue with the people totally sick and tired of the Congress rule,” BJP president Nitin Gadkari told the rally.

“The Congress talked about food and shelter for the people when they won the elections in 2009. Today the party has given the people of India nothing but miseries by way of price rise and corruption,” BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said.