Congress demands apology for Sushma Swaraj's Rajghat dance

NEW DELHI: Caught on the wrong foot, leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj was on Tuesday battling Congress' taunts for her jig at the BJP's 24-hour protest against the police action at Ramlila Maidan.

Hitting back at the Congress for calling the BJP a party of dancers and demanding her resignation, Swaraj sought an explanation from UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. "I would like to ask Sonia Gandhi whether her party has stooped to such a low level and whether it is under her consent that a party singing patriotic songs is being dubbed as a party of dancers," Swaraj told reporters.

Swaraj's outburst came after Congress General Secretaries Digvijaya Singh and BK Hariprasad castigated her for dancing at the protest. "The BJP belonged to an ideology which killed Mahatma Gandhi....With its leaders Sushma Swaraj and Vijay Goel dancing there, they have shown they belong to this ideology," Singh had said.

He asked since when did the BJP become a party of "nachaniyon (dancers)" and demanded an apology for the way "party leaders breached the sanctity of Raj Ghat". Hariprasad said "by dancing at Gandhi's samadhi, Sushma Swaraj not only insulted Gandhiji but all freedom fighters and the entire countrymen. She should resign from the post of the Leader of the Opposition and apologise to the people." An unfazed Swaraj said "we will sing, swing and dance on patriotic songs till our last breath."

The BJP leader said she was dancing to the tune of patriotic songs to boost the morale of the party cadres, which was in keeping with traditions of her party.

Targeting Digvijay Singh and Hariprasad, she said those criticising her suffered from 'mental slavery' and alleged that the Congress was trying to divert attention from issues like corruption and black money. "The internet is full of dance clippings of Congress leaders. They can open the net to see how many times Indira Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi or Shiela Dikshit danced," she said.