PRESS RELEASES
July 24, 2007

Sailent points in the address by
Shri L.K. Advani
Leader of the Opposition (Lok Sabha)
at Concluding session of the meeting of the
National Executive of the
Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha

The Presidential election is over. India’s new Rashtrapati will be sworn in tomorrow. The BJP considers the sanctity of the country’s highest Constitutional office to be more important than the person who has been elected to occupy it. As a firm believer in the Constitutional order, my party will continue to show due respect to the office of the President of India.

Nevertheless, the BJP is not apologetic about the issues that we raised during the run-up to the Presidential election. They will continue to be as relevant in the time to come as they were before. The outcome of the election does not in the least diminish their importance to India’s polity. On the contrary, it has provoked all right-thinking people in the country to seriously debate about the choice made by the leadership of the UPA.

The leadership of the UPA has shown callous disregard towards keeping the office of President away from the suspicion of any kind of taint. I take strong exception to the Prime Minister’s remark that the outcome of the election is UPA’s victory over “divisive forces”. I wish he did some honest introspection on the serious issues that were highlighted by the media.

For a political party an election victory enhances its credibility with the people. It is an irony that in this case, the UPA’s victory has only highlighted how chaotic the decision making process is within the UPA, even in crucial matters such as this.

The UPA candidate won primarily because of the clear majority it enjoyed in the electoral college. If the general public had an opportunity to express their preference, they would have certainly rejected the choice of the ruling coalition.

* * *

I wish to make it clear once again that the campaign of the BJP and the NDA was not against any particular individual; it was against the UPA’s evident unconcern about issues of corruption and criminalization. Indeed, the dubious distinction of bringing criminalization into the realm of the central government also goes to the UPA. The Prime Minster inducted into his council of ministers persons with known record of involvement in heinous crimes.

The time has come to wage a determined battle against this kind of politics of cynicism, which is bereft of any high ideals and principles. I appeal to the people, especially to the youth of the country, to raise their powerful voice against the evils of corruption and criminalization that are plaguing our polity and disfiguring our democracy. Let us make probity in polity and governance an important issue of national debate -- and corrective action.

(Shyam Jaju)
Office Incharge