Arun Jaitley lambastes Sonia, Naveen

BHUBANESWAR: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Arun Jaitley on Monday criticised Congress president Sonia Gandhi by calling her a "weak leader" , adding that the country���s security and economy were in jeopardy under her dispensation.

"The weak leadership of the Congress does not have the capability to handle the collapsing national security and present economic turmoil in the country," Mr Jaitley said here while releasing the party���s manifesto for Orissa.

Stating that at least 67 cities in the country were attacked under the UPA rule in the last five years, the BJP leader said the Centre had "unashamedly" linked security with security.

Mr Jaitley blamed the Congress-led UPA for the rise in the prices of essential commodities. "Food prices are going up because of the faulty fiscal policy of the Monmohan Singh government. The Prime Minsiter has not taken a single
step to contain the spiraling prices of essential commodities. The UPA had inherited an economy that was booming and now it has left the country in debt," he observed.

To a query, Mr Jaitely said the UP government���s decision to book his party leader Varun Gandhi under National Security Act (NSA) and charging him with attempt to murder case was "disproportionate" and "vindictive."

"Detaining Varun is both disproportionate and vindictive. While forensic report on his speech is yet to come, a number of baseless cases have been filed against him," he said.

The veteran leader, while reacting to the Orissa chief minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik���s action to sever ties with its 11-year-old ally the BJP, said that Mr Patnaik would pay a price for his "visionless" move in the coming polls.

"Naveen is non-ideological personality with flexibility. The BJD-BJP had occupied the non-Congress space in Orissa. Now, he has damaged that space which is going to be taken by the BJP only," he claimed.