Congress mocks BJP, says ‘civil war’ in parivar

NEW DELHI: Congress on Sunday latched on to bickering in the BJP to mock at the opposition party, saying there was a "civil war" in the saffron outfit over the issue of its prime ministerial candidate after BJP veteran L K Advani praised Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan while sought to run down Gujarat CM Narendra Modi.

"BJP story by Advani ji. Chauhan ji verus Modi versus Rajnath ji versus Sushma ji versus Jaitley ji versus Gadkari ji. RSS versus BJP ji-Civil War in Pariwar ji," information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari tweeted.

Tewari's comment came a day after Advani sought to play down Modi's achievements, suggesting Chouhan deserved more credit as he had turned around Madhya Pradesh, once leveled a BIMARU state.

The BJP veteran went a step ahead, comparing Chouhan to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, discovering a common trait in the CM's "humble" manner that he said was reminiscent of the saffron patriarch.

The anti-Modi voices coming from within BJP must be music to the ears of Congress managers who seem to be uncomfortable with the Modi-Rahul Gandhi faceoff in 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

While BJP has claimed that Advani's remarks have been misinterpreted as a criticism of the Gujarat CM, the open rebuke is bound to be seen as intense infighting within the saffron party over Modi's claim to being the prime ministerial nominee.

On Advani's remarks, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed tweeted, "People say, by rating Chouhan above Modi, L K Advani is looking for a safe seat in MP, but I think he will contest from a seat in Bihar."

Ahmed, who hails from Bihar, has been maintaining that the perceived differences between BJP and JD(U) over Modi's projection was a deliberate strategy to push Advani to the front seat at a time when there appears to be a race for the prime ministerial nominee within the BJP ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections.