New Delhi, Oct 19: Lashing out at VHP leader Praveen Togadia for describing congress president Sonia Gandhi as "a dog from Italy", an angry Congress today accused the Sangh Parivar outfit of "vulgarising and debasing our political culture" and asked the BJP leadership to respond "appropriately". Condemning the language used by Togadia at a rally in Gujarat, Congress leaders including Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, Natwar Singh and R K Dhawan, appealed to "saner" elements within the ruling establishment to put a stop to "this kind of vulgarity".
At a hurriedly called press conference, Manmohan Singh said, "The type of language being used day in and day out by people like Togadia amounts to debasing our political culture which is a cause of serious worry."
The Congress leaders said they decided to meet the press since the BJP leadership, including the prime minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, have not condemned Togadia`s remarks "which have crossed all limits of vulgarity."
Singh said if the general elections were to be fought in "this manner" it would vitiate the political atmosphere.


Bureau Report