In an obvious dig at the power arrangement of the UPA government, BJP leader Arun Jaitley has said that governance model in India has gone wrong.
"There is the potential for double digit growth but something has gone wrong with the governance model in India. In any democracy, the Prime Minister has to be the natural leader of a country and party," he said.
"But India over the last few years has been experimenting with a style of governance that is more akin to a corporate model, with a board of directors and a professional CEO," he said, in an obvious reference to Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi.
Jaitley, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, made the remarks while addressing NRIs at a gathering organised by the Overseas Friends of the BJP (OFBJP) here last evening.
The senior BJP leader blamed the current low growth rates on a lack of leadership within the Congress-led government.
Jaitley said that there is a strong desire for change in India which will propel the economy towards double digit growth figures.
"(Prime Minister) Dr Manmohan Singh is an economist; if this is what an economist can do, one has to wonder....India is looking for a change so that we can go back to that strong point in the economic graph," 60-year-old Jaitley said.
He also accused the UPA government of "lethargic decision-making" that had resulted in a reverse flight of investment from the country.
"Indian democracy has a great resilience and it will try and find its own solutions. The country needs to be run by someone of proven ability and that is ultimately for the people to decide. We need a strong anchor, in terms of a party and a leader," he said.
"In the next few months of the run up to the elections, we will continue to advance this debate and I am fairly optimistic of the outcome," Jaitley said, calling for OFBJP's support in the party's campaign.
The event at a community centre in north London coincided with the death anniversary of Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, the founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, a precursor to the BJP.
