Mani Shankar Aiyar compares BJP to Hitler and Mussolini

Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Wednesday compared the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) behaviour in Parliament to Adolf Hitler and Mussolini, saying that the opposition party is mimicking fascism by continually disrupting Parliamentary Sessions.

"There is no difference between Adolf Hitler and the BJP. Yes, there is one big difference that Adolf Hitler first came to power and then closed Parliament while the BJP is closing Parliament in the hope that they will come to power. Their intent is clear, which is that they do not believe in democracy or its institutions. They want to carry on as they like. I hope, though it is getting harder to believe, that some discipline is instilled in Parliament," Aiyar said.

Recalling an incident of 1962, Aiyar said that the once democratic BJP had now transformed itself to martyr the country's democracy by repeatedly causing havoc in Parliament.

"There have been multiple issues that independent India has faced but Parliament has always gone on. ...I want to stress one instance when India was at war with China in 1962 and Parliament had stalled. At that time, 36-year-old Atal Bihari Vajpayee went to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and requested him to call the Rajya Sabha , eventhough Lok Sabha was not functioning. Rightaway, the Parliamentary Session was called and discussions were carried out...That is what we call a democracy," Aiyar said.

"The BJP's present behavior doesn't give credit to anybody. They are like Mussolini who left Milan to close the Italian Parliament. He was successful but after that fascism began. The same threat looms over India today. Today's topic is not of the martyrdom of our brave soldiers. I fear that the BJP is adamant in martyring Indian democracy," Aiyar added.

Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned prematurely again today after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led opposition continued to mount pressure on the Congress-led UPA Government and demanded an apology from the Defence Minister for misleading the nation with his statement

On Tuesday morning, Pakistan had ambushed five Indian soldiers who were patrolling an area along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch District.

While Pakistan has denied the involvement of its troops in the incident, Defence Minister A.K. Antony on Tuesday said in Parliament that the intruders were "terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniform."

Antony's statement attracted a lot of flak, as it has contradicted the Indian Army's account, which said that the perpetrators were "soldiers from the Pakistan Army."

Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha) Sushma Swaraj launched a frontal attack on Antony asking "Who is the defence Minister to give a clean chit to the Pakistani Army?"

The Prime Minister is expected to meet opposition parties on the Poonch District killings today before taking a decision on the response to Pakistan.

Of the five Indian soldiers killed, four belong to the 21 Bihar Regiment and one to the Maratha Light Infantry. They were killed in an ambush by a force dressed in Pakistan Army uniform. The Indian Army soldiers killed in the incident have been identified as Prem Nath Singh, Shambhu Saran Ray, Vyay Kumay Ray, Raghunandan Prasad and Pundalik Mane.