The Hindu : Cong., BJP war of words

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 03, 2002

National

National

Cong., BJP war of words

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI DEC. 2. The rhetoric is hotting up in both the Congress and the BJP camp in the Capital, in direct proportion to the campaign in Gujarat. The BJP accused the Congress of being responsible for terrorism and of playing the "Hindu card".

The Congress hit back, accusing the Government of "playing to the gallery on the issue of terrorism and trying to create a siege mentality in the country''.

In Parliament, the Congress sought to pin down the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, on his statement warning of more attacks on temples.

"If an attack is imminent, the Government must take the House into confidence about what steps it is taking to prevent it, rather than playing to the gallery,'' said the Congress chief whip, Priyaranjan Dasmunshi.

The BJP retaliated and accused the Leader of the Opposition, Sonia Gandhi, of making an "irresponsible statement" in Oxford, but beat a hasty retreat once the Congress threatened to lay the papers on the table of the House.

"Let the Prime Minister come and point out if there is anything objectionable in what she said at Oxford,'' Mr. Dasmunshi said.

The war of words continued outside Parliament as well. The BJP president, Venkaiah Naidu, predicted a "resounding victory'' for the party in Gujarat and accused the Congress of being responsible for the growth of terrorism in the country.

The Congress spokesperson, Jaipal Reddy, replied in a similar vein: "It is ridiculous of them to convert their abject failure to combat terrorism into a propaganda point in the polls.'' He also claimed that his party was "poised for a comfortable comeback'' in the State.

The Congress said the "end of the BJP's rule in Gujarat was round the corner.'' "The people of the State are fed up with the BJP and want to defeat it at the hustings," it claimed.

Turning his attention to the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, Mr. Reddy said "the communal rhetoric of Mr. Modi is subject to the law of diminishing returns''.

The Congress also accused the BJP of creating a siege mentality in the country, specially in Gujarat.

The BJP had failed both at the Centre and in the State to combat terrorism. "The BJP has failed miserably in this respect at both the places,'' Mr. Reddy said.

He asked the BJP to explain whether the nation had become more secure during its rule in the country. "Their track record in this regard is one of abysmal failure, despite our unstinted support,'' he claimed.

PTI reports:

The Congress today refused to comment on the Supreme Court order on the trial in the Ayodhya demolition case but asserted that the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, remained a prime accused in the case.

``We don't comment on the court orders. But let me make it very clear that Deputy Prime Minister Advani remains a prime accused in the case'', the party spokesman, S. Jaipal Reddy, told reporters.

``Here is a Home Minister who is monitoring the case against himself,'' he said.

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