M A I N   N E W S

Cong takes a dig at Sushma’s Rajghat jig
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 7
Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj may have defended herself saying that she broke into an impromptu dance with her party workers during the 24-hour-long satyagraha at the samadhi of the Father of the Nation to boost the morale of the cadres in keeping with party tradition, the Congress is not impressed. It is now demanding Sushma’s resignation for her Rajghat jig on the night of June 5/6.

In the words of AICC general secretary BK Hariprasad, “By dancing at the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj has not only insulted Gandhiji but all freedom fighters and countrymen. She should resign from the post of the Leader of the Opposition and apologise to the people.”

The controversy erupted when television channels aired visuals of Sushma dancing at Rajghat during the party’s satyagraha. It led Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi to sarcastically ask archrival BJP what the party and its leaders, including Sushma Swaraj, were celebrating at the sombre spot.

Unfazed, Sushma said today that they were nationalists and will therefore sing and dance to the song of nationalism. "We will sing the song of nationalism and dance because we are nationalists. The people who dislike it are suffering from mental slavery," she tweeted.

However, Sushma is livid with TV channels for showing only her jig. That’s because this is not the first time her partymen have spent time singing and dancing. “It is a party tradition to sing patriotic songs during all our protests,” she says.

The trend was set by BJP president Nitin Gadkari who sang Kishore Kumar songs all night during the Indore National Council keeping everyone in high spirits. Then there is Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvarghi, who sings bhajans ever so often. But his favourite is Mohammad Rafi’s ‘Chaudhvin ka Chand’.

There is no dearth of such cultural wizards in the saffron party. Their passion for Hindi film songs is tremendous. The other day LK Advani invited a battery of reporters home for a press conference on ‘Bharat Darshan’ but ended up showing a collage of patriotic film songs like Manoj Kumar’s ‘Mere Desh Ki Dharti’ and ‘Ye desh hai veer jawanon ka’ put together by his daughter, Pratibha Advani. The only difference: this time the camera is on the sober and dignified Sushma.

Interestingly, almost immediate disapproval also came from the RSS. A senior functionary said that Sushma’s ‘dance’ at Rajghat was in bad taste: “Rajghat is a sacred place. One is not supposed to dance to a film song there.”

However, BJP spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Husain furiously defended Sushma. “We only dance to patriotic songs but Congressmen dance to filmi songs. And what do you say of people rushing out of their homes and jumping in the middle of the road in the name of celebrating India’s cricket victory (referring to Sonia Gandhi driving up to ITO after India lifted the World Cup)?”

(With inputs from agencies)