Lok Sabha polls 2014: Commanders are not changed on battlefield, says Arun Jaitley

AJNALA: BJP leader Arun Jaitley today fired a fresh salvo at Congress President Sonia Gandhi over her television appeal for votes, saying on a battlefield, commanders are not changed.

Jaitley drew similarities between battlefield, cricket match and the election campaigning while commenting on the "changed roles" of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi during electioneering.

He said that earlier Rahul Gandhi was being shown in the TV ads and now he has been replaced with his mother as Rahul was not seen to be effective enough to fetch votes.

This, Jaitley said, clearly indicated the frustration of Congress after it had failed miserably on economic, governance and security issues.

Congress is trying to divert attention by changing the guard, but these tactics will not help as people are tired of misrule, he said, addressing a meeting in Ajnala village along India Pakistan border.

Claiming that the nation was in the mood for change, he said, "People will vote for strong, stable and decisive government. The inevitable choice is NDA under the leadership of Narendra Modi."

Describing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "meek", Jaitley said, "The Prime Minister has to take most of its decisions approved and ratified from the Congress president. All sensitive subjects have to be discussed with the person outside the government."

Stating that Congress had realised that Manmohan Singh would not be effective, he charged the party of "wilfully" not having fixed any election meeting of Singh.

Claiming that farmers living along the India-Pakistan border were unable to cultivate their agricultural land due to international security, he said if NDA come to power, trade with Pakistan would be opened and it would boost up the economy of Punjab.

Jaitley attacked Congress over inflation, and also condemned UPA's policy to permit FDI in retail sector saying it would affect about 4 crore small traders and about 20 crore people of the country.