BJP seeks PM's resignation, Congress terms it 'negative politics'

The Congress Saturday accused the BJP of engaging in "negative politics" as the opposition party also demanded the resignation of the prime minister after two union ministers resigned over allegations of graft and interference.

"The BJP is doing negative politics. It has no morale (sic) to ask such questions. The people will teach them a lesson," Congress spokesperson Bhakta Charan Das told IANS.

"The BJP, in fact, is strengthening the Congress by doing negative politics," he said.

Pawan Kumar Bansal and Ashwani Kumar Friday resigned as railway and law ministers Friday, following allegations of corruption and impropriety.

The BJP demanded that the prime minister too should go.

"If the prime minister introspects, there is no option for him but to resign. Two ministers resigned yesterday (Friday). The question is not of one or two ministers; whatever has been going on has put a question mark on the whole administrative process," BJP president Rajnath Singh said.

The Congress said that the resignations came as a strong message from party chief Sonia Gandhi, to show that corruption will not be tolerated.

"The resignations are a strong message to the nation from Sonia Gandhi that the party would not spare anybody found involved in corruption," Congress spokesperson Bhakta Charan Das told IANS.

While Bansal came under a cloud after his nephew was arrested accepting a bribe for a plum railway board post for a senior official, Kumar was under fire for interfering in a CBI probe into allocations of coal blocks during UPA I.

The two ministers were asked to go after Sonia Gandhi met the prime minister Friday and told him that the two would have to go.

The BJP, which did not allow parliament to function, demanding the resignations of the prime minister and the two ministers, said the Congress had failed on all counts.

"There is no alternative other than a new government," Rajnath Singh said.

The Congress hit back, saying the BJP was just hungering after power.

"The BJP is hungry for power at the cost of polity. They want to come to power at any cost. They never address the real issues affecting the people," said Das.

He said the BJP did not allow the passage of the food security and the land acquisition bills in the budget session, and also failed to take action in time when its own leaders were found involved in corruption.