Congress dismisses Advani's demand on Indian money stashed abroad

The Congress on Monday dismissed the demand by the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani that the government take steps to bring back money reportedly stashed in foreign banks by Indians as "gimmickry and melodrama".

"Is this gimmickry or rhetoric, melodrama or real ... Mr Advani suffers from a convenient amnesia. For 11 years, six years of the National Democratic Alliance and five years of the United Progressive Alliance, he did not raise the issue," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told media-persons in Delhi.

Singhvi said the issue was being raised when the term of the UPA government was about to end. "We have never objected to consider the merits of a good proposal," he said. Attacking the saffron party, the Congress leader said that it had admitted a woman IAS officer (Neera Yadav) into its fold who was removed by the Supreme Court. "This is their level of sincerity. This exposes the double face of the BJP," Singhvi said, adding, "We (Congress) believe in even handed enforcement of laws on corruption".

The spokesman also hailed the achievements of the Congress-led UPA government on various fronts, terming the BJP as the 'Bhartiya Jhagdalu (quarrelsome) Party'. "They only want to create a jhagda (quarrel) in the country, nothing else..." Singhvi said.

Asked if the Congress was not falling into a trap similar to the "India Shining" which the had BJP projected in the 2004 elections, the spokesman said the party did not believe in stereotypes which have been rejected and defeated.