Advani slams Centre for 'ignoring' Nuclear Day

Koppal, Karnataka, May 11 (UNI) Senior BJP leader L K Advani lambasted the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre for not commemorating the 10th anniversary of Pokhran Nuclear test today.

Addressing an election meeting here, he said the BJP-led NDA government had carried out the test in 1998 to put India among the nuclear power countries in the world.

''We carried out the nuclear test to protect the sovereignty of India and make the country a mighty force,'' he said.

Describing the erstwhile JD(S) and BJP coalition government in Karnataka as a Twenty20 cricket match, he said JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy ''played'' the first 20 overs and wanted to play the remaining 20 as well. This led to the match being abandoned, he said.

''You understood what happened and how the BJP was betrayed. Teach a fitting lesson to the father-son duo of Mr Deve Gowda and Mr Kumaraswamy,'' he urged the voters.

Ridiculing the Congress in the state as a cricket team without captain as it had not projected a Chief Ministerial candidate, Mr Advani said, ''how can they play the match without a captain. The BJP on the other hand has announced B S Yeddyurappa as its captain,'' he said.

Highlighting the NDA government's achievements, he said it had succeeded in building thousands of kilometres of quadrilateral four-lane highway across the country and also built several new airports.

He alleged that due to ''wrong'' policies of the UPA Government the prices of essential commodities had skyrocketted and recalled how the food articles were available at ''low rates'' during the NDA regime.

Despite severe heat wave conditions with mercury touching 44.5 degrees Celsius, a sizable number of people attended the meeting.

UNI DP RS SJ SP KN1729