With BJP leader L K Advani reportedly planning another 'rath yatra', Congress on Monday attacked the BJP patriarch and hoped that this yatra did not create "discord".
"There is yet another yatra by the eternal yatri, the Bhishm Pitamah of the BJP, L K Advani ... The ambition of the yatri knows no bounds ... We hope this is not a journey of vendetta, hatred and creating discord," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters in New Delhi.
The spokesman said the BJP leader should have a yatra of "healing and joining (hearts)" and not a yatra which extols Pakistan founder M A Jinnah. Reflecting on the year gone by, Singhvi said there has been a "stark and clear contrast" between the Congress and the principal opposition party in the last 12 months.
"On one hand, you have politics of development, constructive action and inclusiveness (Congress), on the other hand you have politics of division and politics of Yatras (BJP)," he said. Singhvi alleged the BJP has been in the doldrums politically even as the Congress came back to power in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh. "There is a recognition of the sincerity of purpose by the Congress-led governments," he said.
Referring to Jharkhand where the BJP came to power in alliance with the JMM, Singhvi said the Congress could have formed the government in the state but did not do so from a position of strength and said "no on principles".
He said at the party level a "silent revolution" is going on in the Congress and referred to the work of general secretary Rahul Gandhi on holding internal elections in the Indian Youth Congress and the NSUI. At the government level, Singhvi referred to reforms in law, national security and education to point out the achievements of the Congress-led UPA government.
Pointing to the statement of the new BJP President Nitin Gadkari on inclusive growth, the spokesman said that even if it is inspired by the Congress and they are able to do some good to the people, "we can only be happy for the aam aadmi (common man)." PTI
