Congress decries BJP website on Pratibha

New Delhi, July 10 (UNI) The Congress today came down heavily on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for launching a website on UPA-left Presidential nominee Pratibha Patil, and said this was yet another effort by "the frustrated political outfit to denigrate the high office of the President and convert the dignified election into a political warfare".

"This is nothing but an insult to Indian intelligence," Party Spokesman Devender Dwivedi told mediapersons, while referrring to the launch of a new website "www.knowpratibhapatil.com" by BJP Spokesman Arun Jaitley earlier in the day.

Dismissing it as an "exercise in futility," Mr Dwivedi said the website was another effort by "some frustrated people in the BJP who are senile or juvenile".

Replying to a question, he said the Congress would not launch a website to "expose" the rival presidential candidate. "...Ours is a responsible party and we believe in constitutional culture... We were in power for more than 45 years and contributed a lot for nation-building. We don't believe in using the channels of communication for malicious campaigns as the BJP sought to do against Ms Patil." He said the BJP had been telling one lie after the other against Ms Patil. "Those lies have been compiled and posted on the website." Mr Dwivedi suggested that the BJP should launch a website rebutting the allegations against its Presidential candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. "In fact, what were listed in a leading national magazine against Mr Shekhawat are not allegations. They are all factual accounts of eyewitnesses to the unfolding of events when he was Chief Minister of Rajasthan." He said the Congress had rebutted all the allegations levelled against Ms Patil. "But we don't want to give point-to-point rebuttal as it would give respectibility to those who raised those allegations. Moreoever, it is not a court to give point-by-point denial." Mr Dwivedi said the BJP had launched a "political warfare" against the Congress after they lost power in 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

He accused the BJP of launching a malicious campaign against Congress President Sonia Gandhi and also against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh immediately after the UPA government came to power.

They adopted the same "lowly tactics" against Ms Patil when her name was announced as a Presidential candidate, he claimed.

UNI