Saturday, June 11 2005 17:33 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Congress today (Jun 11, 2005) said that the recent developments in the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) has shown that its leadership is "confused and directionless" and its interpretation of freedom struggle in the context of Mohammad Ali Jinnah was an exercise in "hypocricy and self-ridicule".

"The developments in BJP in the last few days have once again underscored the fact that the BJP leadership is confused and directionless. The party itself lacks any substantive political issue and also incapable of discharging its obligation as a mature and responsible opposition", Party spokesman Anand Sharma told reporters.

The recent controversy following BJP chief L K Advani's statement on Mohammad Ali Jinnah was yet another confirmation of the penchant of BJP and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) leadership for dramatising issues to "mislead the people".

"No expression of pretended outrage or Resolutions can negate the facts of history", he said adding that the National Freedom Struggle led by M K Gandhi under Congress flag was "undermined by two discarded ideological extremes—one represented by RSS and other by Jinnah and his Muslim League".

Sharma said the agendas of both were "divisive as they espoused the philosophy of division.

"BJP and RSS leaders are now mocking at history and public memory. It was their sustained campaign that the two major religious communities could not co-exist in independent India which provided fodder to the advocates of two nation theory", he said.

Referring to the two-nation theory, he said what BJP and RSS were saying today is a "non-fact. RSS had endorsed and embraced the ideological doctrin of Veer Savarkar, who was votary of a theocratic state".

Further, he said they did not participate in any of the major freedom struggle events--Civil disobediance, Salt Satyagraha and Quit India.

"Advani and RSS leaderships' new insight and interpretation of Indian Freedom Struggle was an exercise of hypocrisy and self-ridicule. They have ended up making a sad spectacle of the principle Opposition party itself, which was and remains directed and controlled by the Sangh Parivar", he said.

"After this drama" witnessed by people, he said Advani and BJP leadership have further eroded of what little was left of their "credibility and authority".