Alva gives BJP ammo to attack Congress

NEW DELHI: Congress general secretary Margaret Alva���s allegation the her party sold assembly tickets has given BJP, another opportunity to bring its principal political opponent to its line of fire by hurling corruption charges again.

``After the cash-for-votes scam, which had besmirched the Manmohan Singh government in the wake of the trial of strength in the Lok Sabha, it���s now the cash-for-tickets scandal,������ was how the BJP put it as it tried to put the Congress in the dock over the ``shocking disclosures������ made by one of its own senior functionaries.

``A stunning confession of an insider on the issue of distribution of assembly tickets which forms the core of the parliamentary system in a democracy���, was how BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy described Ms Alva���s admission.

Drawing attention to the cash-for-votes scam, Mr Rudy said: ``Not too long ago, Parliament had witnessed the cash-for-votes scam when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had sought a vote of confidence and now we are seeing the unravelling of a cash-for-ticket scam, where the witness to the alleged charge is Ms Alva, a senior Congress leader, herself. This amply displays the state of affairs in the Congress.���

Given that campaigning for elections to state assemblies is already in full swing, the BJP is expected to latch to the issue to paint the Congress with the corruption brush. The saffron party has been highlighting the Congress��� inability to protect its people from terrorist attacks and the manner in which it mismanaged the economy leading to unprecedented price rise.

All of which made life for the ���common man���, on whose backs Congress won the 2004 general elections, much harder. The latest allegation levelled by one of their own is likely to tarnish the image of the Congress even more.