Sonia Gandhi should not escape blame: BJP

New Delhi: A day after the Congress party countered the Time Magazine’s claim of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh being an “underachiever”, the main opposition - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson, Sonia Gandhi should share the blame of the government’s performance.

“We would like to make it very clear that Sonia Gandhi cannot escape the blame because she has given the political authority to (Prime Minister) Manmohan Singh on account of which India has suffered because of malgovernance, corruption and under-development,” BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

Reacting to Time magazine’s criticism of the Prime Minister, Prasad said that the magazine has stated only the “obvious”. “This is nothing new. The common man of the country has been speaking this for a long time that he (the PM) has practically no achievement to his credit...The legacy of Manmohan Singh is (making) India suffer and insecure,” he told reporters here.

Meanwhile, the Congress party continued to counter the claims of the magazine and the criticism of the opposition.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, the last eight years of UPA’s term has seen political stability, social harmony, internal security, economic growth and a greater role for India in international affairs...this is by no standards an underachievement,” Manish Tewari, Congress spokesperson told reporters on Monday.

PTI also contributed to this story.