BJP vs Congress: Arvind Kejriwal's 'name-and-shame' strategy fails to change discourse

NEW DELHI: The 'name-and-shame' strategy of civil society activists does not seem have deterred politicians from occupying the high moral ground. While Congress president Sonia Gandhi claimed at an election rally in Himachal Pradesh that her party was firm on its commitment to fight graft, BJP said it alone could fight the menace.

Gandhi kicked off her party's election campaign in HP, saying BJP does not practice what it preaches. "They make loud claims about fighting corruption, but they are neck deep in it. Before pointing the accusing finger at others, they should introspect," Gandhi said at Mandi. She also credited UPA with efforts to fight corruption by bringing the Right to Information Act and getting the Lokpal Bill passed in the Lok Sabha. "Who brought the RTI Act? Did BJP enact it? It was UPA which brought the RTI Act to tackle corruption," she said.

BJP, which hit back at Gandhi, asked her to address issues of corruption at her 'doorstep'. It also alleged there was a dichotomy in her claims about Congress being serious about tackling corruption when the party president shared dais with former Union minister Virbhadra Singh, facing allegations of corruption.

"Today she shared the dais with Virbhadra Singh who faces prosecution charges in a corruption case while another accusation has come up against him," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said. She said Gandhi had not answered questions on issues like 2G sale, ISRO-Dewas deal, CWG scandal, Robert Vadra's DLF transactions and the coal block allocations.

"Gandhi has been raising the issue of corruption in her speeches in Rajkot, Mangalore and Mandi. Her script-writer gives her the same speech everywhere," She said. BJP refuted Gandhi's accusations that the poor and needy in HP could not benefit from central schemes since the state government did not utilise the funds.