Congress sees BJP intolerance

The Congress has termed the developments in the Bharatiya Janata Party as "an internal matter" but said LK Advani's resignation from the post of party president proved that it was an "intolerant" party.

"It is an internal matter of the party. But the BJP itself is intolerant. It is proved by this (Advani's resignation)," senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee said today.

"Jinnah had advocated the two-nation theory. Secularism and the two-nation theory cannot go together. Jinnah was the father of the two-nation theory," he said.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said Advani had resigned under pressure from the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. "He (Advani) is trying to change his image. It is just a mask," he said.

Reacting to Advani's resignation, Sitaram Yechuri of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said it was a "well calculated game plan and no division in the BJP could be expected as a result of this". The Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja described the situation as a "reflection of the internal crisis in the BJP".

"Advani was blaming us for being pseudo-secular. The BJP has to now think who is the pseudo-secularist."'

He further said Jinnah was a true believer in the two-nation theory and was instrumental in divding India on religious lines. The CPI said the BJP's "forked tongue" was in evidence again in Advani's statements.