BJP turns heat on PM

• Manmohan must resign and hold polls: RajnathA
• Jail Bharo from May 27 to June 2 if PM won't quit

A day after two top Cabinet Ministers � Pawan Bansal and Ashwani Kumar � resigned, the Opposition BJP turned the heat on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, demanding that he should introspect and resign and go in for fresh polls. Stepping up the offensive, BJP President Rajnath Singh has announced a programme of Jail Bharo from May 27 to June 2, to take the agitation right into the midst of the people to mount pressure on the Prime Minister, if he does not step down on his own accord. With government image and credibility taking a beating, there is no alternative to holding fresh polls, he said.

Rajnath took on the Congress-led UPA Government, describing it as the first government in independent India to face such grave charges of corruption. He asked Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi whether remaining in power was more important than safeguarding national interests. Referring to the resignations of Raliway Minister Pawan Bansal and Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, he said if that was done in time, then the budget session of Parliament would not have been derailed and important legislations like the Food Security Bill and Land Acquisition Bill could have been passed with some changes. The government, Rajnath charged, has failed on all fronts. When he assumed office, Manmohan Singh was known as economist Prime Minister and a man of impeccable integrity. On both counts, he has since come under a cloud. If no firm measures are initiated, then the economy could slowdown. Venkat Parsa