BJP questions UPA Govt.'s leadership over Cabinet reshuffle report

New Delhi, Apr 24 (ANI): Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday hit out at the UPA Government over reports that four senior Cabinet ministers have written to Congress President Sonia Gandhi offering to step down from their posts, and said the main problem that the country is facing at the moment is the lack of good governance.

Prasad said it is still not clear whether the key decisions are taken by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh or Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

"The main problem that India has from the Manmohan Singh Government is the lack of good governance. The policies are not good; there is lack of good leadership. The position and direction is unknown. We don't know whether decisions are taken by 7, Race Course Road (Prime Minister's official residence), or 10, Janpath (Congress President's residence)," said Prasad.

Terming the latest developments to be a window dressing, Prasad said the country will not benefit from it, and added that the common man is facing a lot of problems because of the rising inflation and the rampant corruption

"Due to this, there is a lot of problem in the country. People are facing problems because of the rising inflation and the rampant corruption. This (problem) cannot be solved with the ministers leaving their posts and joining the party. The decisions should be taken to improve the position and direction of the country," said Prasad.

"And the leader of the government (Manmohan Singh) will have to show his leadership quality, the problem is because of that. This is all window dressing, the country will not benefit from it," he added.

According to reports, several senior ministers of the Manmohan Singh-led UPA-II Cabinet have reportedly written to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, saying that they would like to be relieved of their portfolios and would like to work for the party.

According to reports, Union Law and Justice Minister Salman Khurshid, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vyalar Ravi are the senior leaders, who have written in this regard to Sonia Gandhi.

Senior leaders could be replaced by younger Members of Parliament in the Union Cabinet, who may now be given important portfolios and extra responsibility.

The plan to revive the Congress has been taken following the initial report of the A.K. Antony Committee, which looked into reasons for the party's extremely poor show in the recent Assembly elections in five states.

The final report, which will be submitted to Sonia Gandhi by end of April, points out that a weak organisation was the main reason behind the party's rout.

Sonia Gandhi had set up the Antony Committee with Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde as the two other members following the Assembly elections rout, particularly to study the Congress's show in Uttar Pradesh where Amethi MP and General Secretary Rahul Gandhi had worked very hard and almost made it a prestige issue. (ANI)