Cong hits back at Team Anna for 'hurling abuses' at MPs

New Delhi, Mar 26: Taking strong objection to the language used by Team Anna members against Parliamentarians during Anna Hazare's day-long fast, the Congress accused them of trying to reduce the country's institutions "to ruins".

Choosing not to make any direct attack on Anna Hazare, party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi, however, said the language used by members of the civil society yesterday reflected the "fundamentalism of righteousness" and demonstrated their "arrogance" and "disgust" towards Parliament and democracy. He said Congress was not afraid of debates and dissent, but also stands for the "dignity of discourse".

"Though I speak on behalf of the Congress party. I express the sentiment cutting across party lines because this is the understanding of the entire political class. Just because people may not file a defamation suit. Just because Parliament may not fully assert right to privilege does not mean you call Parliamentarians criminals and goondas," party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said.

His reaction came on a day when the Team Anna came under sharp attack in Lok Sabha with members from all sides NDA, Left, Congress and SP slamming civil society members for using derogatory language against parliamentarians. Maintaining that what happened at Jantar Mantar yesterday was "highly regrettable", Singhvi said, "Those who destroy and cannot construct will have only ruins. Those who want only to condemn and not create will get only negativity. They wanted to reduce the country's institutions to ruins."

The Congress spokesperson said that the kind of "abuses hurled" by those at Jantar Mantar, has established that they have no faith in any system, institution, Parliament, Parliamentarians or those in public life. "All generalisations including this one are false," he said.

PTI