The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday dubbed the Congress manifesto a 'joke', saying the party should have presented a report card of the 'failed promises and false assurances under the weak leadership' of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"The Congress government is in power. It should have given a report card and then asked for a support card. This manifesto is a joke," senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters.
Naidu said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government was one of 'failed promises and false assurances' as most of the issues in its last manifesto had gone unfulfilled.
"The aam admi (common man) is suffering. The number of those living below the poverty line has gone up to five crore. The trio of prime minister, finance minister and the planning commission has failed in economic management," Naidu said.
Slamming Dr Singh, Naidu said: "His opinion is not heard even within the party and the people don't take him seriously. Today people say, PM presides, madam (Congress president Sonia Gandhi) decides," he said.
Naidu alleged that the Congress had failed to provide relief to farmers, prevent crores of job losses, pass women's reservation and other important bills and improve internal security.
"There have been 10,000 cases of farmers' suicides ...There is a fertiliser shortage in the country," Naidu said. He also alleged that the government had paid foreign farmers double the amount paid to their Indian counterparts while importing grains.
"Lakhs of people have lost their jobs. A whole family had tried to commit suicide in the capital," he allegedd.
Accusing the Congress government of failing to pass any important bills in Parliament in the last five years, the former BJP president said: "The Women's Reservation Bill was not passed even though the Congress president is a woman. The Lokpal bill, the bill on judicial reforms and the bill on the inheritance rights for women were also not passed." He alleged that the Congress had failed on the security front as well with problems relating to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Naxals, insurgency and infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir continuing.
"In the Parliament attack case, all the terrorists were shot dead. But during the last five years, there have been so many blasts and this is due to the mishandling by the Congress government. It should look within instead of blaming others," Naidu said.
