Bharatiya Janata Party president Lal Kishenchand Advani has lashed out at the Congress for making its re-enactment of the Dandi Yatra a purely party matter instead of a national celebration.
The Congress had on Saturday re-enacted the Dandi march to mark the 75th anniversary of the historic yatra by Mahatma Gandhi.
In a press statement issued on his behalf in New Delhi, Advani said, "It is highly regrettable that the UPA [United Progressive Alliance] government had chosen to make the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the historic Dandi March by Mahatma Gandhi a purely Congress party affair. Propriety and respect for democracy demanded that it should have been a national celebration, with the participation of all political parties, rather than being blatantly politicised by the Congress party."
It would have been better if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had called an all-party meeting to ensure broad-based participation. After all, India's freedom movement was a common and sacred inheritance of all the people of the country and not the monopoly of the Congress, he argued.
He lashed out at Congress president Sonia Gandhi for hogging all the limelight and ignoring other party leaders. Te occasion was 'misused' for projecting Sonia Gandhi, he alleged.
He also took strong objection to the manner in which Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was not invited to join the march, despite the fact that the function was held in Gujarat.
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