Sonepat: Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani today (Mar 24, 2004) ridiculed the Congress for opposing his "Bharat Uday Yatra", charging that it would unleash communal violence in the country.

"I laughed when the Congress said that yatra would cause communal violence in the country as during the Ram rath yatra had in 1990. There was not a single incident of violence during the previous yatra except one, which was that of some youths pelting stones at the rath," he said in Sonepat.

"We should also know that this was not done by Muslims, but some 'upper caste' Hindus who were angry with us for not having pulled down the V P Singh Government over the Mandal issue," he said.

Stressing that Muslims have been exploited, he said the country has been "ruined by vote-bank politics".

Referring to the recent Uttar Pradesh Government order declaring half-day on Fridays to allow Muslim students offer Namaz, he said, "I was happy that the opposition came from within the Muslim community, as they need jobs and education and not holidays."

In a veiled attack on the Congress leadership, he said politics has become a "short-cut to success. During the freedom struggle, our leaders were educated but nowadays any ordinary man can join politics and think of ruling the country."