'War of placards' between Congress, BJP in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: It was as much a 'war of placards' between the Congress and the BJP as it was a war of words in the Lok Sabha today.

BJP members had brought in placards highlighting various scams under the Congress rule to counter the main opposition party's posters attacking the Narendra Modi government.

"Ulta chor kotwal ko daante, kisano ki zameen damaad ko baante (Like a thief rebuking cops, farmers' land is given to the son-in-law)" was one such BJP poster, referring to the controversial land deals involving Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra.

"C for corruption, C for Congress" read another BJP poster, while a third one said "Congress ka raaj jahan, ghotalon ki baadh wahan (scams flood wherever Congress rules)".

These posters were aimed at countering the Congress placards, one of which read: "Modiji 56 inch dikhao, Sushma, Raje ko turant hatao (Show your 56 inch (chest) Modiji, sack Sushma and Raje immediately).

Other Congress placards read: 'Bade Modi meherban, toh chhote Modi pehelwan' (a Hindi idiom meaning that a small person is strong if supported by a powerful person) and 'PM chuppi todo' (PM, break your silence).

It was apparently a hurried job by the BJP members as their placards were written on plain paper, while Congress members had brought fancier printed placards with slogans written in conspicuous colours.

BJP brass has asked its MPs to strongly and aggressively counter the Congress attack over the Lalit Modi controversy and Vyapam scam demanding the resignations of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh chief ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had yesterday taken strong objection to displaying of placards by members and warned them of disciplinary action, saying it was of utmost importance to maintain credibility and dignity of Parliament.