New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today (Apr 9, 2004) asked Congress to explain why it has formed an alliance with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) when it had withdrawn support to the United Front (UF) Government in 1997 alleging DMK of colliding with the assassins of Rajiv Gandhi.

"The then Congress president Sitaram Kesri had on November 28, 1997 written to President K R Narayanan that a section of DMK party and its top leadership indulged in aiding and abetting anti-national and terrorist activities of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the banned-Tamil outfit responsible for killing Rajiv Gandhi," BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu said.

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"The Congress had withdrawn support to UF Government alleging DMK had links with killers of Rajiv Gandhi. Now it has tied-up with the same DMK for elections. The Congress owes to people of the country an explanation for this change," he said.

He also asked Congress to explain why it has joined hands with Sharad Pawar, who along with two other Congress Working Committee members - P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar had some years back written to party president Sonia Gandhi that the Congress manifesto should suggest an amendment to the Constitution to bar persons of foreign origin from holding high offices of President, Vice-President and Prime Minister.

"The Congress had split on the foreign origin issue thereafter. And today it has again tied up with the same persons who first raised the foreign origin issue," he said.

The BJP also took Congress to task for supporting Ram Jethmalani against Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lucknow, saying Jethmalani is the same person who raked up the Bofors scam and defended the killers of Indira Gandhi.

"Jethmalani had to quit the BJP Government when he sought to defend the accused of Indira Gandhi assassination case. And the same person is now being supported by Congress," Naidu said.

"These are serious and emotional issues. Congress owes an explanation to the country," he said.

The BJP president was, however, quick to distance itself from the allegations of DMK's proximity with LTTE and said, "We don't agree with the allegation that top DMK leadership had anything to do with Rajiv Gandhi assassination."

Naidu also released to the press copies of the letter written by Pawar Sangma and Anwar to Sonia Gandhi.