BJP hits out at Congress

The BJP on Tuesday attacked the Centre over what it saw as a smear campaign against civil society activists agitating for a Lokpal Bill. BJP national vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the central government had given “supari” to “defame the anti-corruption campaign of Shri Anna Hazare”.

The BJP on Tuesday attacked the Centre over what it saw as a smear campaign against civil society activists agitating for a Lokpal Bill. BJP national vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the central government had given “supari” to “defame the anti-corruption campaign of Shri Anna Hazare”.

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Party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, “Corruption is Congress-centric and this has been proved. The recent wave of anger against corruption is primarily Congress-centric. Sonia Gandhi should tell the nation whether Congress leaders have been instructed to damage the anti-corruption movement.”

Rudy also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his reported statement that he was fighting a rotten system: “Is Rahul Gandhi’s statement an indictment of the Prime Minister, the UPA or of 50 years of Congress rule?”

Meanwhile, Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan received support from civil society activists who signed a statement under the banner of the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information. The signatories include Sonia Gandhi-led NAC members Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander and information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi.

The statement said, “The NCPRI strongly condemns the systematic attempts to malign the reputation of Shanti Bhushan, a tireless defender of civil liberties and the rule of law, and Prashant Bhushan, one of the most courageous and effective anti-corruption crusaders in the country”.