Even as his yatra enters Gujarat, BJP leader LK Advani criticised the UPA for scams in its regime. Advani attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and said that the scams had brought "shame" to the entire nation.
"When India adopted the parliamentary form of democracy, big leaders of the world, including Winston Churchill, had criticised us. But, in the later years, India proved to be a successful democracy," he said at Vapi where Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi welcomed Advani even as the latter's yatra entered the state.
"I used to respect the PM earlier but the way he won the 2008 trust vote by adopting corrupt practices, no one will be able to forgive him for saving the government by buying MPs. However, various scams during the UPA regime have defamed the nation. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi have brought shame to the parliamentary form of democracy of the country," he alleged.
Welcoming Advani, Modi said that the voice of corruption has been against Congress. "Corruption and Congress are synonymous. Rajiv Gandhi might have won with a thumping majority, but one Bofors scam had thrown him off power. But, Gujarat will not tolerate corruption. The nation, too, will not tolerate it. Gujarat has been the first to raise voice against corruption and that was against the Chimanbhai Patel regime of the Congress," Modi said. On his part, Advani praised for his good governance and making the state corruption-free. "Gujarat is the only state in the country, where there is good governance and 'swaraj'. This has been possible under the able leadership of Narendra Modi," he said.
Modi said if there is a will, government can be run without corruption. "The Congress (leaders) say they are 'helpless0' about corruption, but I say it is their helplessness and not ours. Fight against corruption will continue, be it through, Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev or Advaniji. The corrupt government will have to come down," he added. He also questioned Congress on why the party is not speaking about bringing back black money to India.
