On board special IAF aircraft, 15: Justifying the projection of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the personification of good governance, the Deputy Prime Minister, L K Advani, today ridiculed Congress president Sonia Gandhi's objections for the BJP's highlighting Vajpayee's personality rather than talking about other issues. Making it clear that unlike the Congress, the BJP-led NDA was not pursuing the ''India is Indira and Indira is India'' culture, Advani said that the BJP as well as its allies practised democratic governance.

Vajpayee personified the image and ideology of the BJP and NDA government and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi should realise the difference between the two regimes (NDA and Congress), he said, coming down heavily on Sonia’s recent remarks criticising the BJP for not having any other issue to talk about than Vajpayee.

For six years, Vajpayee has been a symbol of good governance at the Centre. The party wanted to communicate its ideology and NDA's performance to the people, for which a personality was required to represent its achievements. ''Who better than the Prime Minister,'' asked Advani.

The BJP has used Vajpayee's name as a mode of communication, based on his personal attributes and qualities, he clarified, while talking to mediapersons on board the special IAF aircraft, enroute to Ahmedabad, where he will flag off a new Ahmedabad-Darbhanga Express train.

Bureau Report