New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on October 3 took strong exception to Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali's criticism of BJP for "using normalisation of ties with Islamabad as a poll slogan" dismissing the charge as "baseless" and terming it as an "interference in India's political affairs".

Describing Jamali's allegations as "completely baseless and false", party president M Venkaiah Naidu in a statement said it was extraordinary for the Prime Minister of Pakistan to comment on a specific political party in India and "it clearly amounts to interference in India's internal political affairs".

He said if the process of normalisation of Indo-Pak relations has stalled, "the blame rests fully and squarely with Pakistan. The whole world knows that the reason for it lies in Pakistan's refusal to dismantle its infrastructure of cross-border terrorism targeting India".

"Pakistan cannot pretend before the United States and the rest of the international community that it is interested in normalising relations with India and, at the same time, continue to sponsor the campaign of terrorist killings in India."

Refuting the charge that BJP "made a good show" in last year's Assembly elections in Gujarat in the wake of "massacre of innocent Muslims", he said this statement is clearly aimed at inciting communal sentiments in India.

"Those who have no Democracy, those who practice theocracy and those who have wiped out minorities in their own country have no right to comment on a Democratically elected government in an Indian state," the BJP President said.

PTI