Prime Minister’s office devalued: Advani

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani on
Friday said the prime minister’s office had been “devalued over the last few years”.

“There can be no Congress president more important than the prime minister. Over the last few years the office of prime minister has been devalued.  7 Race Course Road [the prime minister’s official residence] has to be more important than 10 Janpath [residence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi],” said Advani at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit when asked why he had described Manmohan Singh as a weak prime minister.

On the global financial crisis, Advani said the ruling coalition had inherited a 8.5 per cent economic growth but will demit office with no more than seven per cent economic expansion.

“I believe in times of current crisis, hurting though it is, we can make most of the opportunity to take a leap forward.”

“The point I wish to make is that a nation’s economy is like its eco-system. If there is a fire in the forest, it not only burns the trees but also endangers birds, insects and micro-organisms. Therefore, we must quickly put down this fire called the economic crisis,” he said