PM adopting double standards on Ayodhya attack: BJP

Sushma Swaraj, spokesperson for the Bhartiya Janata Party, accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of adopting double standards and shirking responsibility on the terrorist attack on the makeshift Ram temple in Ayodhya on Tuesday.

The BJP had demanded the resignation of Home Minister Shivraj Patil on moral grounds. Dr Singh dismissed the demand and reminded the BJP of Kandahar and the attacks on Parliament and Akshardham during BJP rule and asked how many times Lal Kishenchand Advani, who was then the home minister, offered to quit.

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"When they were in opposition they had made similar demands when terrorist-related incidents took place. Now, we are in the opposition and we are doing our duty. Dr Singh should not teach us what we should do," she said.

"He is adopting double standards while rejecting the demand for Patil's resignation. This shows political immaturity," she said at a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday.

She took the Communist Party of India-Marxist to task for questioning the BJP's right to demonstrate against the terrorist attack on the Ram temple. "This is our right and we shall exercise it just as they do on various issues," she said.

While answering questions, she denied that there was any reluctance on the part of Advani in visiting the Ram temple in view of his controversial statement on Mohammed Ali Jinnah, whom he had described as a secular leader during his recent visit to Pakistan.

"Do not read between the lines all the time. Our leaders Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh had gone to Ayodhya a day after the incident and they were not allowed to visit the temple for two consecutive days," she said.

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"Now they have asked Advani to come and hence, he is going there. From the party side, I will accompany him during the visit," she said.

Former BJP unit president Vinay Katiyar and former Uttar Pradesh assembly speaker Kesarinath Tripathi will accompany Advani besides Rajnath and Kalyan Singh.

The BJP also wanted to know why George Fernandes, of the Janata Dal-United, was flown to Ayodhya, while the BJP leaders were kept away from the place. "This kind of treatment will give rise to rumours," she warned.