Satyagraha conference, Congress or government programme? : BJP

New Delhi, Jan 18 (UNI) The BJP today sought to know if the World Conference to commemorate the centenary of the launch of satyagraha by the Father of the Nation was a programme of the Congress party or the government.

Responding to the announcement of the conference by the Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma in which eminent personalities including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and six heads of the state were to participate in the Centenary commemoration scheduled for January 29 and 30, BJP Spokesman Prakash Javadekar said if it was organised by the Congress it was good because they needed to 'relearn' the essence of teachings of Mahatma through such a conference.

If the Congress was organising it, it was free to invite or leave out the person of their choice to the function. However, if it involved public spending than they could not leave out any political party by their whims and fancies but go by the protocol. Referring to the participation of Spokesman of the External Affairs Ministry at the news conference called by Mr Sharma, the BJP Spokesman said his presence was very legitimate if it was a government programme. However, if it was Congress' programme, then his presence pointed to the first signs of misuse of official machinery, he remarked.

UNI