BJP slams Arjun for statement on Freedom Struggle celebrations

Lucknow, May 9 (UNI) Castigating the Congress-ruled government at the Centre for making celebrations of the 150 anniverasry of the first war of Indian independence as a party affair, the BJP today announced to hold its own country-wide celebrations.

The Bharatiya Janata Party in fact came down heavily on the Congress for denying participation of all sections including the BJP in the celebrations describing it as 'improper' and 'unfortunate'.

The statement of Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh, in which he had said that the BJP was excluded because it had not participated in the 1857 uprising against the British, was 'baseless' and 'absurd'.

''Even at that time the present Congress was non existant as it has nothing to do with the present Congress,'' the BJP Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here at the luncheon press conference.

In view of this, the BJP had decided to organise celebrations of 150 years of 1857 freedom struggle on its own. The party General Secretary Anant Kumar had been entrusted the job of making blueprint of the celebrations and submit it to the party high command for implementations.

UNI