UPA hails achievements, Opposition claims performance 'dismal'

New Delhi, Mar 3 (UNI) Parliament today started the debate on Motion of Thanks on President's Address with the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha L K Advani and BJP President Rajnath Singh launching a blistering attack on the performance of the UPA Government in both the Houses.

While Mr Janardhan Dwivedi contended in the Rajya Sabha that the Congress-led UPA was the best coalition the country had ever seen Mr Advani countered that any coalition that worked in the ''shadow of instability'' cannot do justice to its position, referring to threats of withdrawal of support by the Left Parties on the Indo-US nuclear-deal issue.

Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee has more or less indicated that the Government would go ahead with the deal and one has to see the response of Left parties, he said. Till the time negotiations over the nuclear deal were not there, one could be certain that the elections would be held in 2009 but in the wake of the threats from the Left, ''one is not sure when the elections will descend'', Mr Advani wondered.

Mr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Congress, spoke on the need for the country to make ''honest introspection and being self critical' about the performance of the Government, at the same time an appreciation of the achievements have to be acknowledged, he felt.

Mr Rajnath Singh, leading the Opposition attack in Rajya Sabha criticised the Government's announcement of short listing 90 minority dominated Lok Sabha constituencies for development package.

Such a decision was not in tandem with national unity, he said.

The discussions are incomplete and will resume tomorrow.

Eds: Pick up suitably from related series.

UNI MCN YA KP1922