NEW DELHI, March 24: Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today lambasted opposition Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Lal Kishenchand Advani for his destructive role in national affairs and questioned his ability to rule the world’s largest democracy.

Dr Singh said Advani had played a "prominent role" in the 1992 demolition of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, presided over Gujarat riots that killed several thousand Muslims, and failed to prevent the terror attacks on Parliament and the Red Fort while he was  Home Minister in Atal Behari Vajpayee’s cabinet that was voted out in the last general election five years ago.

While talking to reporters after releasing the Congress Party election manifesto here, Dr Singh was asked to comment on Advani’s charge that he is "a weak prime minister."

A reticent and urbane Dr Singh has ignored Advani’s taunt with contempt for the last five years. But he finally lost his patience today, and hit back at the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. He said Advani has been making this criticism "again and again".

"Whether I am a weak prime minister or a strong prime minister, our government’s actions speak volumes about it," Dr Singh declared.

On the other hand, he thundered: "All I can discover in Advani is the prominent role he played in the 1992 razing of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya that sparked off widespread Hindu-Muslim violence."

"What has he done to contribute to national welfare?" asked the prime minister.  Congress President Sonia Gandhi was seated by his side at the Congress Party headquarters here.

Dr Singh tore into Advani, rubbishing his record as home minister in the BJP-led Vajpayee government that was voted out in 2004.

"When he was the home minister, the terrorist attack on our Parliament took place," he said, adding that it led to a massive mobilisation of troops on the India-Pakistan border.

"Without getting any results, we rolled the troops back. Parliament was attacked, Red Fort was attacked (by terrorists), an Indian Airlines plane was hijacked and terrorists were rewarded (by releasing them). This is Advani’s record in office."

An angry Dr Singh went on: "He was the home minister who presided over the massacre of innocents in Gujarat. This country must reflect if he is fit to hold the post of prime minister."

The prime minister said Advani is widely seen as a Hindu hardliner. But he "was opportunist enough when he went to Pakistan. There, he suddenly discovered new virtues in Mohammed Ali Jinnah. When he came back, his party disowned him, his masters in the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and many of his colleagues disowned him".  "Is Advani a strong man or a weak man? Let the records speak for themselves."

 "BJP is out to divide people on the basis of a communal agenda," Dr Singh said. Referring to the controversy surrounding Varun Gandhi’s anti-Muslim speeches in Pilibhit Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, he described BJP’s "endorsement" of the young candidate’s line as "shameful."

"A party which puts up candidates with such a mindset cannot take the nation forward. A party which puts up candidates with that sort of mind cannot strengthen the forces of unity," the prime minister declared.

Dr Singh also attacked Left parties for their "negative mindset," and ridiculed the newly-formed Third Front, saying it is not at all a viable alternative.

Describing the Indo-US civil nuclear deal as a major achievement in terms of India’s energy security and environment protection, he ridiculed the BJP and the Left parties for opposing it.