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Cong remarks against Gadkari uncivilised: BJP

October 20, 2010 22:34 IST

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday took strong exception to the "uncivilised, personal" comments of Congress against BJP president Nitin Gadkari, saying there was no place for such discourse in a democracy.

Reacting to Gadkari's allegations that the Prime Minister's Office as well as his cabinet were involved in alleged corruption in the Commonwealth Games projects, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari had on Wednesday called the BJP president a "spoilt brat".

"Through his uncouth, personal comments against the BJP national president on Wednesday, Tewari has shown his own uncivilised behaviour," said BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

He maintained that in a democracy the Congress had every right to express its views, but it should not have been done in such a manner. The BJP also warned the Congress that it was capable of using such language too but that was not its way of functioning. "People have always condemned such comments but the Congress should remember that it also has a president. And it is not in our nature to make such comments. But don't think we cannot do such things. Political discourse has to be with certain decency. The Congress should practice restraint," Javadekar said.

The Rajya Sabha member maintained that Gadkari had raised issues of "public importance, national importance, corruption, and the shame brought to the nation by the culprits, and definitely the errors

committed of omission and commission".

"It is our right to tell this. Accept our demand for a joint parliamentary committee if you want to bring out the truth and expose corruption. And give the correct answers to the issues we are raising," Javadekar said. Clarifying why the PMO was dragged into the allegations related to CWG, Javadekar said, "The Congress got incited about why we named the PMO. Suresh Kalmadi (CWG Organising Committee chief) and Sheila Dikshit (Delhi chief minister) are directly responsible for besmirching the face of the nation. They are fighting now among themselves but for long they were partners. Sometimes there is a fight over loot also."

The BJP spokesperson alleged that the PMO was responsible for inflating the budget of the Games without verifying facts. Javadekar insisted that other than Rs 1,600 crore given to the CWG Organising Committee, Rs 100 crore were given for technology, Rs 750 crore for overlays.

"The CEO for the Games, Jarnail Singh was appointed by the PMO in October 2009. All final sanctions were given by him. He has signed on all the papers. Proper appraisal was not done," Javadekar alleged.

The BJP also said the government appointed a Group of Ministers and a committee of secretaries, which held several meetings to take stock of the situation and so were responsible. "Arjun Singh headed the GOM first. Then Jaipal Reddy was given charge," Javadekar said.