Monday, January 9 2006 18:59 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Congress today(Jan 9,2006) lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for alleging that the phones of its leaders including L K Advani were tapped during the Volcker controversy, saying the opposition party was 'merely jumping the political bandwagon' as it had become 'bankrupt' of issues.

"It is a sorry state of affairs that BJP has become so bankrupt that it does not have an issue of its own. So much so that they are now borrowing issues from (Samajwadi Party General Secretary) Amar Singh. It is merely jumping the political bandwagon," All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan told reporters here.

Observing that the timing of the BJP allegation was 'suspect', she said it was open to Advani and other leaders to 'lodge complaint at that time' when the Volcker issue broke out and was being debated in Parliament.

Earlier replying to questions, AICC General Secretary Ambika Soni countered, "When did he (Advani) come to know (about the alleged phone tapping)? Was it today? He should have lodged a complaint then itself."

The BJP alleged that the telephones of many of its senior leaders, including Leader of Opposition L K Advani were tapped during the Volcker controversy. Besides the SP, Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu has also claimed his phones were being tapped.