Date:14/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/14/stories/2008051461201200.htm

National

Don’t behave like pets, BJP asks Congress leaders

Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday advised senior Congress leaders “not to behave like pets.”

Though BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy mentioned no names, it was a clear reference to the recent controversy in the Congress after a book by Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh was released.

There were references in the book to the decision-making process in the Congress and the suggestion was that the party was no longer as democratic as it used to be in the days of Indira Gandhi or Jawaharlal Nehru.

Other Congress leaders jumped into the controversy to criticise what Mr. Singh had said. Finally, on Monday Mr. Singh released a statement saying he was a “loyalist” of the Nehru-Gandhi family, but “not a sycophant.”

At this, Mr. Rudy said what was happening in the Congress was a disgrace to democracy. “Senior Congress leaders should not behave like pets.”