BJP takes on Sanjay Dutt

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday condemned Samajwadi Party general secretary Sanjay Dutt casting reflection on the Supreme Court that disallowed him from contesting because of his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai riots case.

His claim that a senior Union Minister had told him that he will not get permission to contest unless he joins the Congress amounts to bringing name of the Supreme Court into controversy, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said at the party's daily press briefing in New Delhi.

Though Sanjay did not disclose name of the minister on whom he claimed to have done "stinging," Prasad said it was clearly Union Law Minister Hansraj Bhardwaj who offered a favourable order from the Supreme Court, only if he quits Samajwadi Party and joins Congress.

Notwithstanding allegations and counter-allegations, "it is a very sad commentary on the way governance is being done wherein unfortunately even the name of the Supreme Court is sought to be brought into controversy," Prasad said. He said the BJP wants the nation to know that this sordid play is being enacted by players "supposedly committed in the fight for secularism."

In a dig at Sanjay Dutt, Prasad said it was truly surprising that in new company, in a very short time, 'Munna Bhai' who popularised Gandhigiri onscreen has mastered the art of 'stinging' the minister. He said it tallies with a saying that "one is known by the company one keeps."

The Central Bureau of Investigation giving a clean chit to former Congress minister Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots was not unexpected, knowing well how the Congress has been misusing the agency to its advantage. "Yeh to hona hi tha (This was bound to happen)," Prasad said.

The abuse of CBI in the matter of disproportionate assets of Samajwadi Party chief and former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav only confirms the extent of manipulations being done to keep the Manmohan Singh government in power, the BJP spokesman said. "You support the Congress, the CBI will bail you out, you oppose, the CBI will prosecute." This exactly happened in Mulayam's case, Prasad said.

He also took offence to Home Minister P Chidambaram telling the Media at the AICC press briefing on Thursday that the communal forces prevented an effective fight against terrorism. Victims of terrorism are both Hindus and Muslims and hence the need of the hour is for all in India stand united in the fight against terrorism instead of standing divided from the kind of efforts the Home Minister is making, Prasad said.

"May I remind honourable Home Minister of India about the CBI that comes under him giving a clean chit to Jagdish Tytler in a highly questionable manner. Let him run his ministry better than finding fault with BJP and talking about the so-called communal forces," Prasad added.