Sunday, February 6 2005 17:37 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Ranchi: BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader Yashwant Sinha today (Feb 6, 2005) said the reported meeting between Congress leader Oscar Fernandes and Cardinal Teleshphore P Toppo had exposed the 'pseudo secularism' followed by the Congress.

''The artificial dividing line drawn by Congress on secularism stands exposed. It is better if the cardinal keeps his distance from politics,'' he told a press conference in Ranchi. Sinha's reaction comes in the wake of a section of media reporting that Fernandes had called on the cardinal yesterday (Feb 5, 2005).

''Had any BJP leader met a religious leader the Congress and its allies would have made a hue and cry. What is it doing now?'' he asked.

He charged the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) allies with 'issuing secular certificates' while engaging in communal politics.

Referring to the political crisis in Goa and the 1975 Emergency, Sinha said the divide is not between secularism and communalism but between democracy and anti-democracy.

The Government in Goa was pulled down 'unethically,' he said adding, ''The assault of democracy by Congress is not new. It dates back to 1975 when the party imposed emergency in the country.''