Sonia fighting corruption is like Pak fighting terror: Gadkari

Keeping the tone stringent,Gadkari next said Sonia Gandhi had become the “symbol of fascism”.

“But if the UPA government is trying to impose an Emergency like situation,then we shall not sit idle,” he added.

He voiced the oft-repeated BJP refrain that Congress was a “mother-son party” and the rest were servants.

Addressing BJP workers at a party convention here,Gadkari said Ramdev’s forcible eviction from the Ramlila Maidan suggests “it is a crime in this country to say: remove corruption,bring back black money”.

“What happened in Ramlila maidan was Ravanlila,” he said.

The BJP president also took a swipe at Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee who had recently criticised the BJP and RSS for providing the infrastructure to the civil society movement.

“Pranabda wants to become the Prime Minister. May be,he can. But he can’t be the President of Congress. That post is reserved for the Gandhi family,” he said.

Gadkari also said UPA ally and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will have to comment on the lathicharge at Ramlila. “If you are silent,it means you support the wrong done,” he said.

Gadkari has reduced political discourse to ‘gutter level’: Congress

Congress on Wednesday accused BJP President Nitin Gadkari of bringing down political discourse to ‘gutter level’ by making remarks comparing Sonia Gandhi’s resolve to fight corruption with Pakistan’s promise to fight terror and demanded an apology from him.

“We strongly condemn the extremely outrageous remarks made by the BJP chief against Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Gadkari has reduced the platform of BJP and national discourse to gutter level politics. He should apologize for his remarks,” party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarjan said.

The party’s reaction came after Gadkari in Kolkata said,”Sonia Gandhi says she will fight corruption. I say it is like Pakistan saying we will fight terrorism.”

He also said,”When Pakistan says we will fight terrorism,even the people of Pakistan and the rest of the world don’t believe it. Similarly,when she says so (on corruption) not even Congressmen will believe it.”

In a hard-hitting response to BJP chief’s outbursts,Natarjan said,”To compare the noble sentiments of the Congress president and her resolve to fight corruption to Pakistan fighting terrorism shows the mindset of Gadkari who comes from an ideology that breeds hatred,divisiveness and murder.”

The Congress spokesperson said that Gadkari has in the capacity of BJP President dragged the level of national discourse down to the lowest common denominator.

Noting that Gadkari had “in past called the Opposition leaders dogs and made other “derogatory remarks” she said the BJP President was “unfit” to play a role at any level of democratic polity and demanded an apology from BJP for the “outrageous” remarks made by its president.

Natarajan said that Gadkari was unfit to play a political role at any level in the country’s democratic polity because of the “venom and lack of culture” in his discourse.

Referring to the cash-on-camera scandal involving former BJP chief Bangaru Lakshman,she questioned Gadkari’s ‘temerity’ to draw a parallel between the Congress President’s resolve to fight corruption and Pakistan’s promise to combat terror,reminding him of Sonia Gandhi’s decision to decline Prime Ministership after 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

“He (Gadkari) does not have any locus standi to question the motive and work of the Congress President,” she said adding Congress does not descend to the “gutter level politics” of BJP President.

With agency inputs