Statement : Sh L.K. Advani during his Jan Chetna Yatra in Sambalpur (Odisha)

STATEMENT BY SHRI L.K. ADVANI
CHAIRPERSON NDA PARLIAMENTARY PARTY
DURING HIS JAN CHETNA YATRA
SAMBALPUR (ODISHA)

First, I wish to convey my heartfelt thanks to the people of Odisha for the overwhelming support I got last evening from the time my Yatra crossed over from Chhattisgarh. Earlier in the day, the response in Chhattisgarh too was way beyond my expectation. But Odisha surprised me even more because my party is not as strong here as in Chhattisgarh.

The spontaneous turnout all along the route, including Attabira, Bargarh and Sambalpur where I reached four hours behind schedule, conveyed a direct message to me: The people of India are fed up with the unprecedented corruption that is taking place under the UPA regime. They want corruption to end, black money stashed away in foreign banks to be brought back to India, the persons guilty of building a structure of corruption and greed punished and want this immoral UPA Government to go as soon as possible.

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Anarchy and chaos prevails in the Central Government today.

With every passing day a newer order or decision comes which only aggravates the chaos.

The latest is the new pecking order laid down by the Prime Minister. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee who is also Leader of the Lok Sabha and Home Minister P. Chidambaram have been placed at par.

In the UPA Government, since its formation there has been a question mark over who is No.1 in the Government- the P.M. or the Congress President (there never has been really any doubt over the answer).

Now a question mark has been placed even over who is No.2 ! The Telegraph reports a Cabinet Minister observing : “The Prime Minister has demolished the No.2 myth.”

Added to this, Cabinet Seceretary Ajit Seth has sent an order to Ministers which spells out three specific decisions:

1. The Prime Minister alone will take key policy decisions.
   
   
2. Defence Minister A.K. Antony is not above Home Minister Chidambaram in matters of governance: and
   
   
3. There is no designated No.2 in Government.

One wonders if the formal promotion of P. Chidambaram to parity status with the Leader of the Lok Sabha is a desperate attempt to thwart a probe against him in the 2G scam after the indictment of the DMK Ministers.

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Today, one former Minister and several UPA MPs are behind bars and many more are waiting in the queue outside Tihar Jail. Therefore, we need to bring in systemic changes that ensure clean politics and good governance. My Yatra is aimed at arousing the people to seek their involvement in achieving this mission.

The Manmohan Singh Government’s arrogance of power goes beyond the brazen corruption that is happening right under the nose and with the knowledge of a Prime Minister who prides himself on his alleged integrity. The UPA regime has also been busy subverting the federal structure of the Constitution. It has let loose investigative agencies that are supposed to be impartial, on non-Congress State Governments. It is trying to harass and torment our State Governments and discriminating against them in financial matters in particular.

Last week’s meeting of the National Development Council, therefore, became a forum for leaders of non-Congress State Governments to express their anger against such discrimination. Tamil Nadu’s representative protested vigorously against the Centre’s discriminatory policies. The Congress Party’s partners in the UPA such as Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal had earlier complained about the absence of consultation on many matters such as sharing of Teesta waters withBangladesh.

Our Government in Madhya Pradesh is unable to maintain National Highways because the Centre’s Road Transport Ministry took away the power of highway repair from the State authorities. As a result, State Highways in various States are well maintained while National Highways are in a pathetic shape. I experienced this last evening while travelling from Bargarh to Sambalpur.

The case of Gujarat is too well known to bear repetition. The Centre has tried its best to make Narendra Modi’s Government dysfunctional. The outburst of protest at the NDC meeting caught the Prime Minister on the back-foot. The BJP will not allow the Centre’s sinister design to subvert the federal structure of our Constitution. We are confident that other non-Congress Governments will join us in this struggle.