BJP's candidate from Amritsar, Arun Jaitley addresses an election rally in Majitha village in Punjab
New Delhi:
Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitely has said that the upcoming general election is a "one-horse race".
"When there are more horses, then the jockey turns back to see the No. 2. But here when (Narendra) Modi turns around, then who is on No. 2 cannot even be seen," Mr Jaitley said on Friday, while campaigning for the party's East Delhi candidate, Maheish Girri. (Full coverage: India Votes 2014)
"For the first time, it seems that it is a one-horse race. Our voter is very wise. So, the best will be not to just give majority but clear majority so that till five years, the government can be run with power and transparency. A stable government improves the economy of the country," he said.
"The biggest injustice will be if no party gets a clear majority. A government should be powerful and be able to take decisions on issues. If the country is to be brought on track, then not just 272 but 300-plus seats are needed (in the Lok Sabha polls)," Mr Jaitley said.
He said people will "punish" the ruling Congress for bad governance.
"The PM was an economist, but failed to control inflation. Prices of petrol, diesel and eatables increased, job opportunities went down, GDP came down to 4.5 per cent, investors stopped investing in the country. He stalled the economy of the country," he said.
"Massive corruption has made the UPA government the most corrupt government in the history of the country," the BJP leader added.
Raising the issue of farmers in Punjab, Mr Jaitley, the BJP's candidate from Amritsar, said, "Our farmers in Punjab have some land on the other side of the border. They cannot even go to cultivate their land. They told me they want compensation. I asked them what the cost of compensation is... they told me nearly Rs 40-50 crore. The government can't give them this amount but they are involved in scams to the tune of thousands of crores."
Mr Jaitely also slammed the Aam Aadmi Party, saying it had no ideology.
"Today there is only one option for people... People asked me for two years 'who will be your PM candidate?' I always said jokingly that the people of the country and BJP workers have decided it. The party only needs to put an official stamp on it. This is the first time in history that who the BJP's PM candidate will be was decided by the people and later the parliamentary board only disclosed it," Mr Jaitley said.
"Modi is very popular as he is the only leader who faced the most criticism but was approved by the people. Very few leaders have this quality. The country has got this type of a leader after a long time after Atal Bihari Vajpayee," he said.
"When there are more horses, then the jockey turns back to see the No. 2. But here when (Narendra) Modi turns around, then who is on No. 2 cannot even be seen," Mr Jaitley said on Friday, while campaigning for the party's East Delhi candidate, Maheish Girri. (Full coverage: India Votes 2014)
"For the first time, it seems that it is a one-horse race. Our voter is very wise. So, the best will be not to just give majority but clear majority so that till five years, the government can be run with power and transparency. A stable government improves the economy of the country," he said.
"The biggest injustice will be if no party gets a clear majority. A government should be powerful and be able to take decisions on issues. If the country is to be brought on track, then not just 272 but 300-plus seats are needed (in the Lok Sabha polls)," Mr Jaitley said.
He said people will "punish" the ruling Congress for bad governance.
"The PM was an economist, but failed to control inflation. Prices of petrol, diesel and eatables increased, job opportunities went down, GDP came down to 4.5 per cent, investors stopped investing in the country. He stalled the economy of the country," he said.
"Massive corruption has made the UPA government the most corrupt government in the history of the country," the BJP leader added.
Raising the issue of farmers in Punjab, Mr Jaitley, the BJP's candidate from Amritsar, said, "Our farmers in Punjab have some land on the other side of the border. They cannot even go to cultivate their land. They told me they want compensation. I asked them what the cost of compensation is... they told me nearly Rs 40-50 crore. The government can't give them this amount but they are involved in scams to the tune of thousands of crores."
Mr Jaitely also slammed the Aam Aadmi Party, saying it had no ideology.
"Today there is only one option for people... People asked me for two years 'who will be your PM candidate?' I always said jokingly that the people of the country and BJP workers have decided it. The party only needs to put an official stamp on it. This is the first time in history that who the BJP's PM candidate will be was decided by the people and later the parliamentary board only disclosed it," Mr Jaitley said.
"Modi is very popular as he is the only leader who faced the most criticism but was approved by the people. Very few leaders have this quality. The country has got this type of a leader after a long time after Atal Bihari Vajpayee," he said.
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