LK remarks strengthen Opposition stand on Lalit row

BJP veteran L.K. Advani’s remarks on “probity in public life” have strengthened the Opposition parties’ stand that Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj must “own up responsibility” in the Lalit Modi controversy. The main Opposition Congress and the Janata Dal (U) were the first one to back Mr Advani on this issue.

Significantly, Mr Advani aired his views at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been refusing to break his silence on this issue which has revived the Opposition.

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said: “Whatever Advaniji has to say, he says it clearly. It is for you to understand what he is saying... laton ke bhoot baton se nahi mante,” Mr Azad remarked. “Advaniji is a seasoned leader who always talks in a measured tone. There are several senior leaders in the BJP who are saying their mann ki baat. They are saying that there is a difference in practice and precept [of the Prime Minister],” he said.

Mr Azad’s comments are significant as Mr Advani’s remarks recalling how he quit after his name cropped up in the hawala scam are seen as a veiled message to the PM over the controversy involving Ms Swaraj and Ms Raje.

Bihar chief minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar said it was now clear that the ruling BJP does not intend to walk on the path of political morality.

“They had claimed to be a party with a difference. What difference is that They want to protect their own people... They might be feeling that if they take action against one it may trigger a process. By now, it is clear that they don’t intend to walk on the path of political morality. This is what Advaniji has also cautioned about,” Mr Kumar said.