Advani's remark is in stark contrast to his earlier silence: Cong

The Congress on Tuesday said that Bharatiya Janata Party veteran L K Advani's remarks that Anna Hazare's fast achieved more in four days than what the opposition had in two months was a "sad reflection on the opposition party".  

"It is a sad reflection on the opposition party" All India Congress Committee general secretary Digvijay Singh told mediapersons when asked to comment on Advani's remarks.

In the latest post on his blog, Advani said that Hazare's fast achieved more in four days than what the opposition had in two months when it was demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the 2G scam. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi also took a jibe at the BJP leader for his insistence for the introduction of the Lokpal bill in the monsoon session of Parliament itself.

 "For six years (when the National Democratic Alliance was in power), neither he wrote any blog nor took even minor steps for setting up of the Lokpal," was Singhvi's refrain to Advani's remarks that he had told Pranab Mukherjee that the bill should be passed in monsoon session itself and that there should be no delay in tackling corruption.

The Congress spokesperson also reacted with sarcasm to Advani's refrain that disapproved of spreading disdain against politicians saying his "comments are in stark contrast to his previous silence" on the issue.

Hailing Anna Hazare's campaign for a "more effective" Lokpal bill, Advani on Tuesday disapproved of those who revel in spreading a climate of disdain about politics and politicians which he said was a gross disservice to democracy.

"I am of the view that those who revel in spreading a general climate of disdain about politics and politicians are doing a gross disservice to democracy," Advani said. Reacting to it, Singhvi said,"We hope that Advani has said it seriously and that his earlier silence on the issue was not political opportunism.

"Congress has been saying it from the beginning that individuals assign to themselves the role of the government. There is no place for a parallel government in Parliamentary democracy; what Advani has said on Tuesday is in stark contrast to his earlier silence on the issue. We hope that his comments are not opportunism," he said.