BJP TODAY

October 1--15, 2005 - Vol. 14, No. 19

BJP sounds bugle for Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu
From Our Correspondent

Sounding the bugle for the assembly elections in February next year former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Party President Shri L.K. Advani left no stone unturned to catch the imagination of voters in Tamil Nadu.

Addressing a mammoth public rally on September 17, organised as an adjunct to the party’s three-day national executive meeting, Shri Vajpayee called for a striking a balance between nationalism and regional aspirations.

Exhorting the partymen Shri Vajpayee advised them to go to the people, understand their problems and tell them that the BJP cares for them, the Tamil language and culture as “It is the only way for the party to grow in the state,” he added. Showering lavish praises on the Dravidian icon and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu C.N. Annadurai, Shri Vajpayee said “Anna was a staunch nationalist” and a “champion of Dravidian culture and Tamil ethos,”. He called upon the BJP cadres to celebrate his birth centenary in 2008 across the country with grandeur.

Shri Vajpyaee also praised the State for its progress in information technology, research and development. “Tamil Nadu is a combination of the ancient and the modern and tradition and technology,” he said

Taking UPA to task for murdering democracy BJP President Shri Lal Krishna Advani said that the Bihar Assembly election was the first opportunity to shake the UPA Government in Delhi. He said the party would come to Tamil Nadu again next year asking people for their support.

The BJP president touched on an emotive issue in the State when he spoke of the steps taken by the Vajpayee Government on the interlinking of rivers and blamed the UPA Government of failing to take it forward.

Ridiculing the governance under the UPA, Advani said, “Have you ever seen a car or cycle driven by two drivers simultaneously. Now we are seeing two drivers driving one car (UPA Government). One pressing the accelerator and another applying the brake while the third tries to puncture the wheels.” He also accused the UPA of delaying the projects initiated by the Vajpayee Government undertaken to develop infrastructure.

In his inimitable style Party Vice President Shri M Venkaiah Naidu launched a scathing attack on both the DMK and the AIADMK for the political degeneration of the state and accused them of pursuing politics of hatred and vengeance. The BJP was launching a nationalist movement in the state as the people of Tamil Nadu were longing for a party with a nationalist outlook.

Prominent among others who addressed the rally were BJP State unit President Shri CP Radhakrishnan, National Secretary Shri L. Ganesan and Member of Parliament Shri S. Thirunavukkarsar.