Date:12/09/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/09/12/stories/2006091204381300.htm

National

Congress condemns attack

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI : The Congress on Monday condemned the attack on the Loreto Convent School in Lucknow by the Bharatiya Janata Party's youth wing members but said no educational institution was entitled to indulge in "superstitious practices" or "meaningless rituals."

Attacking the BJP youth wing for vandalism, party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said: "This is a party whose views show to all of you, to the nation recently, its true face and its true sanskriti at Ujjain a few days ago. Whether it is Ujjain, whether it is Gujarat, whether it is Madhya Pradesh, the BJP and its frontal organisation have always followed the predictable path. A path carefully pre-planned, deviously executed and always done with a diabolical object of dividing the society for petty political mileage."

The party said no educational institution, whether aided or unaided, minority or majority, was entitled to mislead students, or indulge in superstitious practices or meaningless rituals that have no nexus with education.

BJP stand

The BJP distanced itself from the attack and criticised the party's youth wing members who indulged in violence.

It also disagreed with "blind faith" and the occult practice at the school, where some students were reported to have fainted during the assembly session.