Advani says PM remark exposes Cong weakness

New Delhi, Dec 12: Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate and former party president, L K Advani today said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remark relating to his anointment ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls revealed that the Congress party did not have an alternative to Narendra Modi.

"It shows they have admitted that they don't have any alternative to Modi," Advani told reporters. Manmohan Singh, on Tuesday, said that the decision by the BJP just ahead of Gujarat polls was taken as the party is increasingly nervous of the polls in the State and feels threatened by its own leader in the State, Narendra Modi. The BJP also dubbed the Prime Minister as being "diffident and unable to run the government" as his Left allies are threatening to pull the rug beneath him.

"'He is frustrated and disappointed and is making these comments considering his own state of mind,"' BJP vice president M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here.

"'We did not expect such comments from the Prime Minister. He is not in a position to give direction or commands and has become nervous ever since Advani's name was announced because there is no leader in Congress who can equal Advani in stature," Naidu added.

On Monday Advani was anointed as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate for the next Lok Sabha polls.

Yesterday, Janata Dal United President Sharad Yadav said that Advani has been "our colleague and I don't have any problem following his nomination as the Prime Ministerial candidate." ANI>