Date:08/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/08/stories/2007050812630500.htm

Other States - Rajasthan

Singhal's criticism of Sonia angers Rajasthan Congress

Special Correspondent

Rajasthan Congress chief demands ban on entry of VHP leader

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan unit of the Congress has reacted strongly to Vishwa Hindu Parishad president Ashok Singhal's observation in Chittorgarh on Sunday that the Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi should be deported from the country. Sonia Gandhi is the daughter-in-law of an illustrious family, which fought for the country's freedom, and it is not she but those who create communal frenzy in the name of religion who deserve to be thrown out, the party said on Monday.

Mr. Singhal's diatribe against Ms. Gandhi came in the context of the latest controversy over the proposed Sethusamudram project, which the Bharatiya Janata Party and its front organisations are opposing for fear of damage to the mythological "Ram Sethu" formation. The VHP leader was at the Sanwaliaji temple in Chittorgarh at a function to dedicate a "dharm rath". He alleged the hand of Ms. Gandhi behind the project. The arrest of the Shankaracharya during Diwali last year too was at her behest, he charged.

"On the one hand the BJP and its front organisations talk about `Vasudeva kundumbakom', which means treating the whole world as one family. On the other, Mr. Singhal holds such narrow-minded views and makes such irresponsible comments on a person who has proved her commitment to the country and had even given up the post of the Prime Minister," said Pradesh Congress Committee president B. D. Kalla in a statement on Monday.

"Mr. Singhal should apologise to the nation," he said.

Dr. Kalla demanded a ban on organisations that worked to end religious tolerance in the country with the motive of spreading communal violence and hatred.

The Shankaracharya was arrested during the tenure of Jayalalitha as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and her proximity was not to the Congress, he pointed out. Refuting the charges of missionaries indulging in religious conversions in Rajasthan, Dr. Kalla said the State did not have even a single case of conversion registered with the police. "The bogey of conversion is part of a larger game plan to terrorise the minorities and create a sense of insecurity in the minds of the majority community," he said.

Dr. Kalla also demanded a ban on entry of Mr. Singhal into Rajasthan.