Baneshwar-Dham (Rajasthan), April 3
Congress president Sonia Gandhi today questioned BJP leader L.K. Advani’s statement that he was not aware of the decision to send his Cabinet colleague Jaswant Singh on the plane with dreaded terrorists to Kandahar and wondered whether he was not trusted by the then Prime Minister on the issue.

People on their way to take part in Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s rally in Baneshwardham in Rajasthan on Thursday. — PTI

She asked at a public meeting on the banks of the confluence of rivers Som, Mashi and Jakham in Dungarpur district during a short visit to this pilgrim centre for tribals, “Now the then Home Minister of the NDA says he was not aware of it (Jaswant Singh accompany terrorists). If he was not aware of it, why did this happen? What are we to understand? That the NDA Prime Minister did not trust him? Why so?”

Picking on the contradictory statements from the NDA camp on the issue, Sonia referred to former defence minister George Fernandes’ statement that Advani was in the know of the Kandahar decision and asked why the then external affairs minister Jaswant Singh has “not broken his silence”.

Sonia asked, “Who is speaking the truth and who is not? Why are they hiding the truth?” Advani met on the day of Holi and gave her a copy of his recently published autobiography in a meeting that was meant to bring a thaw in their relations.

Attacking the BJP, the UPA chairperson said the former talked about nationalism and terrorism, but did not anything about it. “I want to know which party pandered to terrorists and sent them away to Afghanistan. It was not the UPA but the BJP.”

Sonia said, “Releasing terrorists in Kandahar was a major incident related to nation’s security... I wonder with what face the BJP is making allegations on us against spreading of terrorism.” On the price rise, she said she was aware that inflation had really affected the people.

“But let me assure you that the UPA is doing its best to control inflation. You must be aware of rising prices of petrol, wheat, rice and pulses in the international market. But we have not raised the prices of kerosene or fertilisers,” she added.

Sonia asked Chief Ministers of the BJP-ruled states to reduce tax regime, control black marketing and raid stocking of food products. — PTI