Rajiv Gandhi's assassination: 'Desperate' Congress discovered BJP role after 28 yrs, Jaitely's jibe

New Delhi, May 09: Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday hit back at senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel who had blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for creating an environment that led to the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Patel had earlier said the BJP had backed the V P Singh government, which refused to provide additional security to Rajiv Gandhi.

"From December 1990 till May 1991, when Shri Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, the Congress Party supported Chandra Shekhar government was in power. From May 1991 till 2004, the Congress blamed its present ally the DMK for Shri Rajiv Gandhi's assassination. It even withdrew support from the United Front government on this ground. 28 years later, today a desperate Congress has discovered a BJP role," Jaitley tweeted today.

Patel slammed the BJP after PM Narendra Modi termed former PM Gandhi, who was assassinated by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1991, as a man who died as "Bhrashtachari No. 1.

In post on Twitter, Patel lashed out at BJP and asked: "Abusing a martyred Prime Minister is the sign of ultimate cowardice, but who is responsible for his assassination?"

Patel further added that several requests for providing additional security to Rajiv Gandhi were turned down by the V P Singh-led government.

Modi's remarks on Gandhi at an election rally in Lucknow sparked angry reactions from the Congress leaders, and provoked AICC president Rahul Gandhi to tell the PM that "Karma awaits you".