BJP will have to wait another decade to regain power: Chidambaram

Launching a scathing attack on the BJP, senior Congress leader and home minister P Chidambaram today said the opposition party would not come to the power in the next decade and even after.

Addressing the Congress plenary on the concluding day of the two-day conclave, Chidambaram said he had no doubt in his mind that in the next ten years, it would be a Congress or a Congress-led government that would rule Delhi.

"To the BJP I would say, aap ka number nahi aayega, (your number will not come) before the decade or even after. For the next ten years, we would be in the government," he said amidst applaud from the audience.

The home minister said when the Congress party was in the government, it must set out its programmes, must pay attention to inclusive growth, ensure health for all, assure education for all and must make every habitation livable.

Chidambaram said he was wondering why the BJP was so angry with the Congress and thought that there could be two reasons for it - one was the "electibility" of the Congress and the "re-electibility" of Congress.

"It is the Congress party alone which can govern the country for five years and go back to the people and ask for a mandate and get re-elected. The BJP had got one chance and failed. The BJP is envious of Congress party. It is the Congress party which knows how to govern and how to get re-elected and govern the country for second term," he said.

The home minister said the BJP was envious of Congress because it was the Congress which can deliver growth.

Chidambaram appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ask every minister of the government to send a quarterly report on the achievement of their respective ministry and department and Congress president Sonia Gandhi to seek a six-monthly report from the government.

"Every three months, each minister must give an account (to the prime minister) what his or her ministry have done. In every six months, the Congress President should ask the government to give an account what has been done in regard to the decision (of the plenary session) on development," he said.

The home minister said when any leader talks about his or her strength, he or she also must acknowledge his or her weaknesses, mistake if any and overcome the mistakes.

Chidambaram said some state governments have been claiming that they were short of funds to carry out development works, which was not a correct picture.

"....don't fall into the trap of some state governments which say we don't have money. Nothing can be further from the truth. Two days ago, all states put together had a cash balance of Rs 95,398 crore. It is a large amount of money. If any state government..... be it a Congress government or a non-Congress government tells us that we don't have money, I tell you humbly, don't believe that government.

"Governments have the money, they have to know how to use the money. They must know how to spend money," he said.

The home minister said government of India has given a large amount of money every year to the states. In 2009-10, the UPA government had disbursed Rs2,85,227 crore to all state governments and this year, the figure will cross Rs3,00,000 crore.

Asking the extremist forces, including the Maoists, to abjure violence and come to the negotiating table, Chidambaram said without peace and good governance, development would not come easily.

"I would like to appeal to them to come and take responsibility, share power, participate in the path of nation building..... peace and good governance is connected to economic growth. Without peace you can't have economic development, without good governance, we can't have economic development," he said.

In an attack on BJP, Chidambaram said between 1998 and 2004, when the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance was in power, the highest growth rate in any year that government could deliver was 6.4%.

"Note my words, the highest growth rate the NDA could deliver was 6.4%. In contrast to this, during the Congress party-led UPA government, the lowest growth rate we have delivered in any year was when there was international financial crisis, and even in that year, we delivered 6.7% growth," he said.