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Vajpayee becoming a habitual liar, says Congress

The Congress today charged the Bharatiya Janata Party with committing an electoral fraud on the people by engaging in doublespeak on the contentious issues of a uniform civil code, abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, and construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya, and dubbed Prime Minister A B Vajpayee "a habitual liar".

Party spokesman Kapil Sibal told reporters in New Delhi today that Vajpayee had once asserted that these three issues are an intrinsic part of the BJP 's manifesto. Therefore he had no reason to feign surprise over a similar statement by BJP general secretary K N Govindacharya.

The BJP by indulging in deception is trying to fool the nation and its alliance partners. Vajpayee, Sibal said, is becoming "a habitual liar".

"It is interesting that even while Mr Vajpayee was making light of Mr Govindacharya's assertion, another leader, Kalraj Mishra, maintained that the temple was very much on the BJP's agenda, Sibal said.

He said that instead of raising the level of the campaign, the BJP is stooping to a personal attack on Sonia Gandhi.

Home Minister L K Advani now finds reason to curb candidates from contesting two seats simultaneously when he had himself contested both New Delhi and Gandhinagar not long ago. Vajpayee also had contested from Vidisha and Lucknow, Sibal pointed out.

The BJP, which had not voiced its thoughts on the issue so far, is now raking it up because Gandhi had decided to contest from Bellary and Amethi. "To Advani goes the award for pettiest mind in the BJP," Sibal quipped.

Sibal described as "a cheap publicity stunt" the Vishwa Hindu Parishad despatching 20,000 rakhis with the lotus logo to the defence forces. The organisation did not think it fit to undertake similar gestures when the elections were not due, he noted.

UNI

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