By IANS,
Bangalore, June 26 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Murli Manohar Joshi Sunday said the Congress-led central government had “scant respect for democratic values” and was “brutally” crushing dissent.
“Dissent is being crushed brutally by the central government,” Joshi told reporters here.
He was in town as part of BJP’s national campaign against corruption in the United Progressive Alliance government.
Joshi said the manner in which yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s “peaceful protestors” at Ramlila Grounds in Delhi were dispersed earlier this month proved the UPA government had “scant respect for democratic values.”
“It will go to any extent to crush even democratic and peaceful criticism,” he said referring to police early June 5 caning and lobbing tear gas shells at people gathered at the ground to support Ramdev’s fast for bringing back black money.
Joshi also charged the Congress with “trying to scuttle” the Public Accounts Committee report on the 2G spectrum allotment scam.
The BJP leader heads the committee and his report on the scandal is highly critical of the central government.
“This is disgraceful and has never happened,” he said.
Joshi demanded resignation of union Home Minister P. Chidambaram as the 2G scam had taken place when he was the finance minister.
“Chidambaram has failed as home minister also and he should quit,” the BJP leader said.