I pity Manmohan Singh, says Advani

Saoner (Maha), Oct 17: BJP leader L K Advani again took a dig at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (Oct 17), saying he took pity on him over the condition of the UPA government.

"The condition of the government is very bad. Sometimes I take pity at Manmohan Singh though I had respect for him at one time," Advani told a meeting at Saoner, near Nagpur, as his anti-corruption yatra entered Maharashtra.

Advani said Singh happens to be the weakest Prime Minister he has ever seen and that even the likes of I K Gujral, Chandra Shekhar and H D Deve Gowda who had only handful of MPs with them had performed better.

"We have had Prime Ministers like Chandra Shekhar, Deve Gowda and I K Gujral who may not have even ten-fifteen MPs but who never appeared weak as there is a lot of strength in the position of Prime Minister," he said.

Advani said calling Singh weak is not an abuse. "When I criticised him by calling him 'weak' before the 2009 elections people asked me why I said that because he was a good and honest man. Calling him weak is not an abuse. But if the Prime Minister thinks that he cannot do anything till 10 Janpath does not give me clearance, it does not behove him," he said.

PTI