New Delhi: Congress on Monday sought to puncture as "gimmickry" LK Advani`s plans to take up yet another Rath Yatra asking the BJP what anti-graft measures it had initiated when in power and accusing it of playing politics on
corruption.
Taking a dig at the BJP for claiming high moral ground, party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi wondered how could such Yatra be possible "with BS Yeddyurappa as charioter, Nishank Pokhriyal as foot soldier, Bangaru Laxman and Dilip Singh
Judeo as poster boys and Anant Kumar as Convenor".
In a sarcastic tone, Singhvi told reporters that the country was waiting with bated breath for Advani to see how his Rath Yatra will reduce corruption.
"Since Rath Yatra cannot reduce corruption, the reasons behind it are different. They are ulterior....We hope Advani in his burning desire to change his position of a permanent Prime Minister-in-waiting will not ignore larger national interests", Singhvi said.
Reminding that the Advani`s Somnath-Ayodhya Rath Yatra
two decades back had spurred violence in the country, he said
that the Congress would request BJP to eleminate corruption
from politics and not to play politics on corruption.
Terming Advani`s Yatra as "gimmickry, grandstanding, sensationalism, he asked BJP to come clean on the issue of corruption. Singhvi wanted the opposition party to tell what steps had been taken on the issue of Lokpal, black money and
corruption when Advani was Deputy Prime Minister.
To a question whether Congress is apprehensive of the political fallout of the Yatra, Singhvi shot back "more such gimmickry is resorted, the more BJP will expose itself."
Singhvi mocked at Advani`s remarks that there were several Prime Ministerial candidates in the BJP. "I fully endorse his remarks. This is BJP`s main problem which the party or Advani have not been able to solve for the last 10-12
years."
The Congress spokesman said that the reports that the controversial former Karnataka minister G Janardhan Reddy had footed the hotel bill of a `friend` of BJP chief Nitin Gadkari "were not even the tip of the tip of the tip of the iceberg".
"We are interested in the iceberg. Wait. This is not even interval. It is a long long movie. This is an unfolding evolving story," he said.
PTI
