The Congress party on Monday ridiculed the Bharatiya Janata Party for reaffirming L K Advani's candidacy for prime ministership at its national council meeting, alleging that the saffron party was desperate to install him as soon as possible before his own partymen and National Democratic Alliance allies could have a rethink on him.
"All this flurry of activity is only aimed at trying to install Advani before people in the BJP and the NDA allies start changing their mind," All India Congress Committee spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told media persons.
He described the series of meetings since December last as a 'stage-managed' set of activities to install Advani within the NDA and the BJP fold as quickly as possible.
"It is, therefore, a confidence-building measure designed by the BJP to deal with the insecurities of the prime minister-in-waiting, who has waited for decades, but is destined to wait for eternity," Singhvi said.
He was reacting to the BJP reaffirming Advani's candidacy for prime ministership on Monday, with its National Council endorsing his name and party chief Rajnath Singh asking the Congress-led UPA to reveal its leader.
"All we can say is that till now it was only Advani who was experiencing Mungeri Lal's pleasant dreams. Obviously, he has now persuaded his entire party to collectively behave like Mungeri Lal," Singhvi said.
Singhvi said the BJP needed to introspect on the 'divisive nature and the destabilising effects' of Advani's 'Rath Yatra', and remarked that it would have to answer questions about the 'character and nature of a person who self-confessedly stood near the Babri Masjid and subsequently said he felt saddened while he twiddled his thumbs.'
"Advani has been the only deputy prime minister in Indian history charged for offences under the Indian Penal Code, including Section 153, which carries a punishment of seven years for spreading mutual antagonism and disaffection between communities," he said.
"And he is also the only deputy prime minister whose definition of secularism embraces Md Ali Jinnah's," Singhvi said.
He alleged that BJP's attack on Congress was an attempt to divert attention from its own failures as an Opposition party.
"Two recent election victories and they are into a dream world of assuming themselves to be the next ruling party," Singhvi said.
Charging the BJP with wasting working hours of Parliament, he said, "An irresponsible Opposition can never be a responsible government."
