BJP decides to boycott Sushil Kumar Shinde

NEW DELHI: BJP has stepped up its offensive on home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for his Hindu terror remarks by deciding to boycott all meetings convened or presided over by him. The decision was taken at a meeting of the party's core group here, the first since Rajnath Singh took over as party chief. Party leaders said after the meeting that BJP will stay away from even meetings called by Shinde and not respond to any communication from him as leader of the House in the Lok Sabha. With the budget session of Parliament beginning on February 21, the boycott could pose hurdles for the government in seeking the principal opposition party's cooperation on crucial issues.

"The core group observed that Shinde's remarks have hurt Hindu sentiments... The party has decided that its members and workers will boycott all public programmes in which Shinde is taking part," BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar told reporters.