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BJP, Cong set to play blame game
With the Rajasthan assembly elections only six months away, the political impact of Tuesday’s blasts that left 60 dead may be unavoidable, reports Shekhar Iyer.
With the Rajasthan assembly elections only six months away, the political impact of Tuesday’s blasts that left 60 dead may be unavoidable.
Even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged cooperation with Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi described the blasts as a crime against humanity, both Congress and BJP leaders seem braced for a blame game.
Raje was on a tour of Jodhpur when she heard of the blasts. She quickly called top BJP leaders, including party chief Rajnath Singh, and central government leaders before heading for Jaipur.
Singh indicated the BJP’s line would be that the blasts indicate a dangerious trend — terrorism is gaining a strong foothold in the Hindi heartland and the Centre must get its act together fast.
After a day or two, Rajasthan Congress leaders are likely to respond by criticizing the Raje government for its “failure” on the law and order front. BJP leaders believe the Congress will be on the defensive because of what they call the UPA’s “track record” on terror.
