New Delhi: Stung by the Government's move to remove another high profile appointee of the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) regime, BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) today (Oct 13, 2004) said the action of asking Censor Board chairman Anupam Kher to step down was motivated by the UPA's (United Progressive Alliance) "policy of vendetta and intolerance" in the name of "detoxification".

BJP spokesman Arun Jaitley said the Government's action amounted to setting a "wrong tradition" following up on "removal of Governors and changes in the field of education."

"There are some positions which have no link to politics or ideology. The Censor Board chairmanship is one such post," he told reporters in New Delhi, pointing out that "the post was not even co-terminus with the Government" warranting the action.

He said though the eminent artiste had been appointed during NDA rule "he has no ostensible political background."

Accusing the Congress-led Government of being "narrow minded", he charged that "ever since it has assumed power, it has been pursuing a policy of vendetta and intolerance. A campaign is being carried out in the name of detoxification."

"The Government's propriety is questionable," he said, adding, "What kind of traditions are they setting? Even respectable people are not acceptable to this Government."

He said the Government action smelt of "vengeance" because Kher was being removed just because he had been appointed during the NDA Government.

"If any of the Censor Board's decisions are questionable, there is an Appeals Tribunal to which they can go against it. But you cannot remove the head of an institution just because of this," the former Law Minister said.