Chennai: BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) said it wanted Manmohan Singh Government to complete the full term of five years, but the Congress-led coalition should rule without "arrogance", a senior party leader today (Aug 26, 2004) said.

Referring to the reports of an NDA (National Democratic Alliance) delegation having been allegedly insulted by the Prime Minister yesterday (Aug 25, 2004), BJP national secretary L Ganesan told reporters in Chennai that the Congress should not think that it had received huge mandate from the people, while BJP had badly lost the in Lok Sabha polls. If this was the attitude it showed the arrogance of the Congress, he said.

Asserting that it was the Congress that was responsible for the "violence that took place 10 years ago in Hubli", Ganesan said when law permitted any citizen to hoist the National Flag, it was the Congress Government in Karnataka, which had prevented former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti from doing so.

The issue would certainly boomerang on the Congress, he said. He said, "Let Congress openly admit that it had resurrected a 10-year-old case against Uma Bharti, only because the BJP and its allies had demanded the resignation of former Union Minister Sibu Soren."

The two cases were not comparable, because in Soren's case, though over 30 years old, there were several serious charges, he said. Unlike Uma Bharti, who had resigned after a non-bailable warrant (NBW) was issued against her, Soren had gone into hiding, he added.

Asked about reports on BJP men showing disrespect to the national flag yesterday during Bharati's surrender at a Hubli court, he said he would certainly make enquiries about the incident before commenting.