New Delhi: A day after Naxals killed 35
people in a brazen attack at Dantewada, Congress on Tuesday accused
the BJP of doublespeak on the Maoist issue and at the same
time maintained that there was no differences between the
party and the Central government in tackling the menace.
"BJP is engaging in doublespeak... They are talking in
one language here (Delhi) and in another language in
Chhattisgarh. The Prime Minister and the Home Minister have
said they will support the Chhattisgarh government in the
fight against Naxals," party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told
reporters.
Ahmed was replying to the allegation of BJP leader Arun
Jaitley that party president Sonia Gandhi and other top
Congress leaders were supporting a "softline" towards Naxals
and were waging a "half battle" against them.
"Chidambaram appeared to be an injured martyr. He
looked disheartened. He claimed he had only a limited mandate
from the Cabinet Committee on Security as against the larger
mandate that he desired," Jaitley said.
Another party spokesman Manish Tewari slammed the BJP,
saying any comment on the situation, which is being tackled by
the government at the highest level, requires "restraint and
maturity".
He said BJP wants to "run with the hare and hunt with the
hound" and asserted that there were no differences between the
party and the Central government as far as the Naxal issue was
concerned.
"The government and the party are on the same page. We
did not pick on the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh when the
attack took place (this time and also last month). We require
all stakeholders on the same page," Tewari said.
To a question about Jaitley terming the Home Minister as
an injured martyr, Tewari said, "If the Leader of Opposition
in Rajya Sabha is suffering from perceptional jaundice, there
is nothing I can do to help him".
Stressing on the need to understand the "dynamics and
fluidity" of the situation, he said the best thing for the
opposition party would be to "walk the talk".
Asked about the statement of AICC general secretary
Digvijay Singh against the use of air-support against the
Naxals, Tewari said it was not for political parties to
comment on operational decisions.
"These are operational decisions. It is not for political
parties to comment on them," the spokesman added.
To a query on the stance of Singh on the Naxal issue and
his emphasis on development of areas that were under their
strangle-hold, Tewari said the party had already commented on
it and there was nothing more to add to it.
PTI
