Govt takes dig at BJP for anticipating early polls

Government today took a dig at BJP for anticipating early Lok Sabha polls and asserted that the elections will be held only next year as per the normal schedule.

'BJP has been believing since 2004 that elections would take place the next day. Unfortunately, they have not been able to accept the electoral verdicts of 2004 and 2009,' Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari told reporters here.

He was reacting when pointed out that BJP is anticipating early polls and gearing up for these.

BJP said on Monday that it feels that Congress may go for early elections as the UPA was 'breaking' from within under pressure from allies.

'The government should be allowed to complete its full term. The next polls will be held only in 2014,' Tewari said.

Speculation about early polls has been triggered by the slew of initiatives that the government has been undertaking recently, like the Food Security Ordinance.