The Hindu : National : BJP frustrated, says Congress

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Tuesday, Jul 29, 2008
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National

BJP frustrated, says Congress

Special Correspondent

“Allegation on bomb blasts immature and irresponsible”

Timing of blasts uncanny: Digvijay
Advani’s rath yatra to blame for communal divide

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday reacted sharply to the Bhartiya Janata Party’s charge that “the recent bomb blasts [in Bangalore and Ahmedabad] were a conspiracy to divert attention from the cash-for-votes scandal,” saying that the principal opposition became “frustrated” and “lost its balance” after losing the trust vote on the India-U.S. nuclear deal in the Lok Sabha last week.

“Not only did they lower the dignity of Parliament [by bringing currency into the Lok Sabha] but to make such an allegation is immature and irresponsible,” said AICC spokesman Manish Tewari.

“They [BJP] had hoped to pull off a “sting operation” on the “cash-for-votes” charge, but that did not happen. So they sent their MPs to the Lok Sabha with money bags. They wanted to discredit the government’s victory.”

“The timing [of the blasts] is uncanny,” said party general secretary Digvijay Singh. “I am not pointing fingers, but the timing is uncanny,” he asserted, reacting to the BJP charges.

“It is always a fact that after such incidents, the BJP takes advantage. We have never used such incidents to divide politics of the country. That is why the timing is uncanny. Whenever the BJP is in a bind, these things happen, be it the blast in Hubli (Karnataka), or in Jaipur during the Karnataka polls or in Ahmedabad after the trust vote in the Lok Sabha,” he told journalists.

Charging the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the BJP with “always trying to divide Hindus and Muslims”, he said that in the pre-1990 period, but for Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and the northeast, there were no incidents of bomb blasts in the country.

“After L.K. Advani’s rath yatra and communal carnage [in Gujarat], these incidents have started. If anyone has to be blamed for communal divide, it’ll be L.K. Advani’s rath yatra and the communal politics of today,” he said.

Asserting that the “communal build-up” had to be faced boldly, he said, “We have to take on communal forces head-on, be it Muslim or Hindu fundamentalism.”

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