L K Advani’s remarks dubbing UPA-II as “illegitimate” today drew the ire of Union Minister Kapil Sibal who said the statement only reflected the “mental agony” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader.
“You can’t call governments illegitimate because governments are elected by the people of the country and it is an upfront both to Parliament and people of India. But we understand that the suffering of NDA, and particularly BJP for having lost on consecutive two terms,” he told reporters outside Parliament House.
Mr Sibal said the statement only reflected the “mental agony” of Mr Advani over the years.
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“It is a very unfortunate statement. I hope that the suffering will be reduced and he will not have to make such a statement to make a point in Parliament,” he said.
Mr Advani today created a storm in the Lok Sabha by dubbing UPA-II as “illegitimate” but withdrew it after strong protests from the Congress.
The Minister said political parties should get together to resolve the crisis in Assam rather than disturb Parliament and “misquote facts of history to reflect that you are not quite sure of what you have to say.”
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Law Minister Salman Khurshid said Mr Advani’s remarks are “unacceptable” in terms of Parliamentary procedure.”
“I sincerely hope that Advani being a very senior Parliamentarian and a very senior leader would reflect upon it.”
Referring to the violence in Assam, he said this is a very tragic moment for scoring a political point. “I think this is a moment for national reconciliation and whatever be the strong feelings which anybody holds we should put them forward in a manner which lead to reconciliation rather than more differences.”