Sharpening its attack in the wake of resignations of two Union ministers on charges of impropriety, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to do some honest introspection and step down, as it is the "only option" for him.
BJP President Rajnath Singh told reporters that elections are the only alternative in the present circumstances as the United Progressive Alliance government has "failed completely" on all fronts, including the economy, internal and external security as well as governance.
He announced a nation-wide "court arrest agitation" from May 27 to June 2, under which party cadre and leaders would reach out to the people and apprise them of the failures of the government.
"If the prime minister does an honest introspection, then resignation is the only option for him," Singh said.
He also targeted former law minister Ashwani Kumar, saying if his contention about his innocence is true, then whom was he trying to defend by making changes in the Central Bureau of Investigation's status report on the coal scam issue.
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Resignation is the ONLY option for PM: BJP
"The heart of the report was changed. We want to know from Ashwani Kumar, for whose defence was he making the changes? He should tell us why he had to become the scapegoat. Whom was he trying to save and to protect whom did he have to resign," Singh said.
He asked the prime minister and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi whether there is any place left for ethics and principles in politics or will ministers step down only after the Supreme Court makes adverse comments.
The BJP alleged that the manner in which Kumar tried to "vet" the coal scam report shows it was done to protect the PM.
"Why was the CBI report doctored by the law minister in the presence of a PMO official? Was it not an attempt to cover up the details of coal block allocations during the period when the PM himself held the coal ministry? Why has the Joint Parliamentary Committee probing the 2G spectrum scam not allowed A Raja to depose before the panel," Singh said.
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Resignation is the ONLY option for PM: BJP
The BJP president maintained that had former railway minister P K Bansal and Kumar resigned without delay, the budget session of Parliament could have been saved and important legislations like the Food Security Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill could have been passed.
The BJP maintained that it wants these two bills to be debated and passed with some amendments. Singh said if immediate steps are not taken, the country will plunge into a serious crisis.
On the foreign policy front, the BJP president noted with disappointment that External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid had not raised the issue of incursions, by Chinese troops in Daulat Beg Oldie area, when he visited Beijing recently.
"We had expected him (Khurshid) to raise certain key issues including the issue of Chinese incursion during his visit, but we are disappointed to know that he didn't even mention these issues during diplomatic exchanges," Singh said.
Referring to media reports, the BJP leader said India has dismantled some of its defence infrastructure in the region and reduced patrolling in Chumar Valley, as part of a tacit deal.
While pledging full moral support to the government on issues of sovereignty and national security, BJP cautioned that China is encircling India and effective measures need to be taken to deal with this threat.
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