BJP's antics a dishonour to Vajpayee: Mamata

Taking a dig at the BJP over the processions organised across the country with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's ashes, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that party's "antics" were in a way a "dishonour" to the late leader.

"We all respect Atal ji. But the kind of antics they are resorting to with his ashes is unbearable. They are, in a way, dishonouring the leader, instead of showing him respect. We cannot tolerate this because we respect some people even if they belong to a different school of thought," said Banerjee, who has been invited by the state BJP to attend an all-party condolence meet for Vajpayee here on Wednesday.

The BJP has held elaborate processions termed "Asthi Kalash Yatra" before dispersing the ashes in rivers across the country.

The urns were handed over to senior state party leaders by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah in Delhi last week and have been immersed in rivers in every state, including at five places in Bengal.

Vajpayee, 93, passed away on August 16 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi after a prolonged illness.

--IANS

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