New Delhi: With Nitish Kumar deciding to
attend the flag-off ceremony of L K Advani`s yatra, Congress
on Saturday reminded him that the BJP leader`s Somnath yatra during
Chimanbhai Patel`s chief ministership had led to the saffron
party capturing power in Gujarat and Janata Dal`s wipe-out.
"If he (Nitish) is a wise man, he should not flag off
this Yatra. And the Bihar Chief Minister should remember that
if there is one (Narendra) Modi in Gujarat, there is another
Modi (Sushil Kumar Modi) in Bihar also. Don`t repeat the
mistakes done by the then Gujarat Government," AICC general
secretary Madhusudan Mistry told reporters here.
He said Patel as Chief Minister of Janta Dal-BJP
government in Gujarat had allowed Advani`s Yatra to start from
Somnath in 1990. "BJP then came to power in Gujarat and
Narendra Modi emerged on the scene," he said.
The Congress leader said that Advani`s yatra starting
from Sitabdiara in Saran district of Bihar on October 11, the
birth anniversary of Jayaparakash Narayan, is "not against
corruption but to anyhow capture power". He said the objective
of this Yatra is no different from his earlier Rathyatra.
Terming the rhetoric of anti-corruption behind Advani`s
yatra as a mere facade, Mistry said, "The context is also not
different. The same Advani, same kind of yatra and the same
objective. Basic characteristics of a person do not change."
He said more than the issue of corruption, Advani`s
yatra could have more to do with BJP`s discomfort with
Communal Violence Bill.
Noting that BJP has deliberately chosen Bihar to flag off
the yatra, Mistry said, "Karnataka is in a mess and only
recently its Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa had to quit over
corruption charges. They could not have done it in Gujarat
projecting two contenders (for Prime Ministership)."
PTI
