New Delhi, Feb 06: Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani today charged the congress with ''being a dismal failure while in the government, and irresponsible and negative in the opposition''. Addressing the Vijay Sankalp Adhiveshan of the BJP here, Mr Advani said that during the first 50 years of independence, India continued to remain backward as the successive Congress governments failed to convert ''swaraj'' that the country got in 1947 to ''suraaj''. However, since the people of India voted Atal Bihari Vajpayee to power in 1998, the NDA government, led by him, has just focussed on one objective of ''suraaj'' (good governance), the Deputy Prime Minister, who also holds the home portfolio, said. ''If the country feels good today it is because of concrete results of the ''suraaj''. The feel-good factor is because of the sustained improvement in our economy. But I regard feel-proud factor even more important than the feel-good factor.'' Mr Advani said the feel-proud factor has become universal as was evident to those who interacted with the participants of the Pravasi Bharatiya Sammelan last month.

''People of Indian origin throughout the world feel proud to be identified as Indians. India commmands a level of respect in the international community as never before,'' he further said.

Criticising the opposition for branding the BJP as communal, he said despite the vicious campaign carried on against his party for five decades, the country believes that the party is sincerely committed to secularism and those, who revile the party as communal, are motivated by vote bank politics.

Bureau Report