Sidhu wants accountability for secular parties

Lucknow, Apr 21: Making a strong pitch against political parties which indulged in minority appeasement, cricketer-turned-politician and BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu today asked for a system to fix accountability of such outfits. ''Innumerable promises have been made to the minority community post-Independence but nothing is done to improve their lot. How long will it go on,'' he told reporters here at state Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters.

These so-called political parties should be made accountable for the false promises they used to make for furtherance of their vote bank politics, he said. Claiming the BJP was the only party which believed in catering to all the religions and castes, he said a close scruitiny of other parties had to be made.

Going a step further, the BJP MP from Amritsar said in fact there should be a common platform for an open debate for all the parties to convince the people about their policies and programmes.

''Accountability should be the essence of transparent politics in the country and there must be a timeframe for all to fulfil their respective assurances,''he pointed out.

The former cricket star and commentator, who is in Uttar Pradesh to campaign for the BJP in the ongoing assembly polls, was of the view there was a strong anti-incumbency wave against the ruling Samajwadi Party in UP. ''The same anti-incumbency would seal the fate of Congress at the Centre owing to latter's inability to check inflation and indulging in votebank politics,''he said.

Mr Sidhu said the prevailing 'goonda raj' in Uttar Pradesh would see the Mulayam Singh Yadav government being wiped out from the state.

UNI