President's Address "disappointing": BJP, UPA supporters

Chacko said he expected a "dream budget" from Finance Minister P Chidambaram tomorrow and dismissed the opposition charge that the government was hit by policy paralysis. He insisted that plans to bring Food Security Bill in the current session showed the commitment of the Congress-led government towards the poor.

Seeking cooperation of the opposition for passage of the ambitious measure, he said it is being brought forward to ensure that no one goes to bed hungry in the nation of 1.2 billion people. In an oblique attack on the Left, he said there are "so called parties which are dwindling day by day" but are still clinging to their old ideology.

Asking the Left to take a leaf out of the Communist Party of China, Chacko said though there was no right to private property in the communist giant, the wealthiest man there is the wealthiest in the world.

He said the Left parties made Indo-US nuclear deal, the main issue in the Kerala polls, but did not do well. "This showed that outdated philosophy will not succeed." Besides, he claimed several non-Congress governments were "surviving" because of national flagship programmes like MGNREGA and JNNURM, saying it showed the UPA government was not discriminating against any such government. Chacko's reference to the 'coffin scam' led to noisy scenes with BJP members on their feet.Girja Vyas (Cong) compared the performance of the erstwhile NDA government and that of the Congress-ledcoalition, claiming "our work will be remembered as an example in national history."

In spite of the ongoing global recession, the UPA government has ensured at least a 5.4 per cent GDP growth which is "not less than a miracle", she said. Referring to a US report on countries hit by terrorattacks and the latest Hyderabad blasts, Vyas said India's position was the fourth after Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan which is a matter of serious concern and called for a "united fight" against terrorism.

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