The NDA?s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani didn?t add to the Bofors brouhaha at the three election rallies he addressed in the West Bengal on Wednesday, but pointed out that 7, Race Course Road and not 10, Janpath should be the most important address of the nation.
??Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has devalued the office of the Prime Minister, while 10 Janpath (Sonia Gandhi?s residence) has become more important than 7 Race Course (Prime Minister?s residence),?? Advani said.
The BJP leader said, ??I had a lot of respect for Manmohan Singh before he became the Prime Minister. But after becoming PM, he sent his ministers to 10 Janpath to take permission before finalising any decision??.
In the last few days of the UPA government, the CBI gave a clean chit to Bofors-accused Ottavio Quattrocchi.
The BJP leader flew down to Kolkata for three quick rallies at Uluberia, Barasat and Krishnagar. The Bharatiya Janata P,arty which is yet to open a parliamentary account from West Bengal, has fielded candidates in all 42 seats.
Advani, while addressing a public rally in Uluberia, said, ??I will vote in Gandhinagar on Thursday and I found some time in Wednesday?s date. So without losing time I thought of coming to Bengal to campaign for my candidates.??
The Opposition leader in Lok Sabha will be visiting the state again on May 8 to campaign for Tapan Sikdar, who is contesting from Dum Dum. Other BJP heavyweights including Narendra Modi and Sushma Swaraj too will campaign in May.
Satyabrata Mookherjee, a former Union minister and also the BJP state president, said Advani?s trip in West Bengal was planned at short notice.
Addressing a rally in Uluberia, Advani said: ??My heart pains to find no BJP representative in Parliament from Bengal even though the party got its founder from the state.??
??BJP-ruled states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka have been popular due to the good governance provided by the governments there??, he added.
Advani asserted that the BJP would emerge as the largest single party after the elections and the NDA the largest coalition.
He said the NDA government had started the Sarba Siksha Abhiyan and if it came to power it would carry it forward introducing compulsory computer education in village schools. After the golden quadrilateral, the BJP has plans to create an IT quadrilateral to enable an information technology connect in all the villages across the country, he added.