Advani wonders what would UPA do without Pranab - National News Updates

New Delhi: Taking a subtle dig at the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), BJP's prime ministerial hopeful L K Advani on Tuesday generously praised External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and wondered aloud what the Government would have done without him.

"I have great admiration for his (Mukherjee's) abilities and sometimes think what would the Government have done without him," Advani said in the Lok Sabha during the motion of thanks to President Pratibha Patil's speech.

Besides External Affairs Minister, Mukherjee is Acting Finance Minister and is standing in for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is convalescing after a bypass surgery.

Several members, including the External Affairs Minister, broke out into laughter as Advani praised him.

L K Advani makes a pitch for Ram in mandir land National News Updates

Senior BJP leader L K Advani on Sunday raked up the Ram Temple issue again, saying it was the party's resolve to build the temple in Ayodhya and claimed that the issue had catapulted the party to power at the Centre earlier.

"The party has not forgotten its resolve to construct Ram Temple in Ayodhya. It was the mandir issue, which finally took BJP to power at the Centre and several states and changed the course of Indian politics," he said.

"The BJP is still committed to the construction of Ram Mandir. The real essence of 'Jai Sri Ram' can be realised only after the Ram Temple is built in Ayodhya," he said while addressing 'Rashtra Raksha Vijay Sankalp Rally' in Gorakhpur.

The BJP's prime ministerial candidate said five years of UPA Government witnessed upsurge in terrorism and accused the Centre of worsening the plight of common man.

He claimed that there were no cases of farmers' suicide in BJP-ruled states, while such incidents were occurring in non-BJP states.

Advani charged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with working on the dictates of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi