The Congress and the BJP on Friday were locked in a verbal duel triggered by BJP president Nitin Gadkari's description of Parliament attack case convict Afzal Guru as the “son-in-law of the Congress” in a public speech in Dehra Dun on Thursday.
The Congress responded sharply, demanding an apology from the BJP. It said the incident proved that Mr. Gadkari was not mature enough to lead a national party.
“This is a disgraceful statement. The country will decide whether such language will be used in the polity,” Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said. “Nobody had expected to see uncivilised behaviour in public life.”
Earlier, another Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari said: “it is obvious that the esteemed president of the BJP has lost it completely. The man needs serious help.”
Undeterred, the BJP not only refused to apologise, it stoutly defended Mr. Gadkari's remarks. Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said Mr. Gadkari was only expressing the “anguish felt by victims of Afzal Guru's terrorist activities,” especially as it was “established” that the Congress deliberately delayed taking a final view on his mercy petition for years.
Mr. Prasad also said he found the language used by Congress spokespersons against Mr. Gadkari to be “undignified” and not in line with “civilised discourse” between political parties.
In the past too, the BJP has insulted leaders of other parties but objected when they responded.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha 2009 election, the party repeatedly described Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the “weakest Prime Minister” ever to have occupied the top position, suggesting that the power was with the Congress president. It was only after Dr. Singh challenged the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, L.K. Advani, to list any “achievement” that he might have to his credit in his decades-long public career, apart from the demolition of the 16th century Babri Masjid, that the BJP became silent.
