New Delhi: Congress Tuesday demanded the
resignation of Opposition Leader in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj
after visuals showing the top BJP leader dancing at Mahatma
Gandhi`s samadhi Rajghat sparked a controversy.
"By dancing at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi, Sushma
Swaraj has not only insulted Gandhiji but all the freedom
fighters and the entire countrymen. She should resign from the
post of the Leader of the Opposition and apologise to the
people," AICC general secretary B K Hariprasad said.
The controversy erupted yesterday when visuals showing
Swaraj dancing at Rajghat while on a protest were aired on
television channels.
However, Swaraj defended her act saying she was
dancing to the tune of patriotic songs to boost the morale of
the cadres which is in keeping with the traditions of the
party.
Hariprasad alleged that RSS and Sangh Parivar had a
hand in the campaign against corruption by Anna Hazare and
Baba Ramdev.
Hariprasad also attacked senior BJP leader L K Advani,
saying the BJP leader was an "old man in a hurry" to become
Prime Minister and "has hence outsourced the role of the
Opposition to Hazare and Ramdev" after losing in two
elections.
"RSS is behind all these things. They have been
attempting all this because the old man (Advani) is in hurry
to become the Prime Minister. He should wait for the people to
vote for him," he added.
Launching a blistering attack on Hazare, the Congress
leader said he is a "mask of RSS and Sangh Parivar" and said
he was no better than Baba Ramdev.
Hariprasad said Anna Hazare is in no way better than
Ramdev.
"He is also a mukhouta (mask) of RSS and Sangh
Parivar. Ultimately it is people who elect and select their
leaders. Prime Minister is elected by 120 crore people and not
by the so-called civil society. What were they doing all these
days?" he asked.
"It is not their satyagraha but the Agrah for Satta
(demand for power)," he said.
The senior Congress leader also justified the police
action against Ramdev, claiming the Sangh Parivar "had a
conspiracy to create a Godhra-like communal violence."
"There was a big conspiracy from the Sangh Parivar
because they had given a call to their activists to assemble
in Ramlila ground on Sunday in numbers to the tune of one
lakh. The area is full of minorities. There was a big
conspiracy to create a Godhra kind of situation and disturb
peace and tranquillity in the area," Hariprasad alleged.
He said the action taken by the government was
justified otherwise it would have led to a serious law and
order problem.
He said had the government not acted in the night to
evict Ramdev and his followers then there would have been "a
disaster and catastrophe". A "right decision" was taken to
avoid that, he said.
On what was the need for the crackdown when Ramdev was
organising a peaceful protest, Hariprasad said the then BJP
government in Uttar Pradesh had filed an affidavit in the
Supreme Court assuring that there would be no damage to the
Babari mosque but the structure was demolished.
About the controversy surrounding the visit of four
ministers to the airport to receive Ramdev, Hariprasad said it
happened because a meeting was arranged at the lounge since
the yoga guru did not want to meet the government
representatives outside.
PTI
