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Opposition Congress and ruling Bharatiya Janata Party continued to exchange barbs over the Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh on Sunday, with the BJP demanding a narco test on Congress Member of Legislative Assembly Kawasi Lakhma, who was reportedly spared by the insurgents while other senior leaders were killed.
"Lakhma can give exact information about the conspiracy involved in the Naxal attack. The legislator has admitted that he had a conversation with Naxals before they released him during the attack," BJP spokesperson Ajay Chandrakar told reporters.
He said Lakhma should be subjected to the truth serum test as he could reveal more information about why some senior Congress leaders did not participate in the 'parivartan yatra'.
Twenty seven people, including state Congress chief Nandkumar Patel, his son Dinesh, Salwa Judum leader Mahendra Karma were killed in the Naxal ambush on May 25.
Karma's PSO, who was critically injured in the attack, succumbed to injuries on Sunday, taking the death toll in the tragedy to 28.
"Union minister of state Charandas Mahant and opposition leader in state assembly Ravindra Choubey did not join the parivartan rally and appeared only after the Naxal attack. Where were they?" Chandrakar asked.
Hitting back at the ruling party, Congress said that Chief Minister Raman Singh should undergo narco analysis test as he had not yet admitted that security lapses that could have prevented the attack.
"The Congress believes that the chief minister and his officials should face the specific test as more facts can surface," party spokesperson Shailesh Trivedi told reporters.
Responding to the BJP's allegationa about why Mahant and Choubey did not join the rally, Trivedi said neither leader was scheduled to participate in the parivartan yatra.
"It is the BJP which had conspired to kill all the top Congress leaders. The statement given by BJP shows how frustrated they were when they saw Mahant and Choubey alive," he alleged.