Virtually snubbing outgoing chief L.K. Advani’s defence of corruption inside the party, the BJP today ‘‘unreservedly’’ expressed ‘‘regret’’ at the involvement of party MPs in the cash-for-questions scandal and Sushma Swaraj said their act ‘‘has made us hang our heads in shame.’’Moving the political resolution on the second-day of the national council session here today, Swaraj said: ‘‘If not a single BJP MP had been caught in the scandal, we could have continued to hold our head high. But today we have to hang our heads in shame.’’ Her confession was greeted with applause from the delegates at the session, who were clearly a little dismayed at Advani’s stance on the issue both yesterday and in Lok Sabha last Friday.The BJP’s decision not to vote for the resolution expelling the errant MPs in the Lok Sabha and Advani’s remark that the punishment was not commensurate with the crime (which he described as ‘‘stupidity’’) has come under attack from sections within the party. In fact, Advani’s stance on the issue has been cited by critics who want him to step down as Leader of Opposition as well.Advani made things worse yesterday by blaming the creeping corruption in the BJP on ‘‘Congress culture’’.The BJP’s political resolution said, ‘‘The stonewalling of the UPA on the Volcker report and the Mitrokhin revelations can be contrasted with the alacrity of the Congress to act in the cash for questions scandal involving 11 MPs. The BJP unreservedly expresses its regret over the involvement of some of its elected representatives. Such people have no place in parliamentary democracy.’’But in a concession to the Advani line in the Lok Sabha, it added, ‘‘At the same time, the party is concerned that short-circuiting disciplinary procedures could open the floodgates of political vendetta.’’More than the text of the resolution, it was Sushma Swaraj’s hard-hitting speech that tried to put the issue in perspective. Swaraj warned against the pitfalls of success and power. Quoting lines from a play on the life of Maratha warrior Shivaji staged here last evening, she said the first challenge faced after victory were ‘‘moh, lobh aur swarth’’ (lust, greed and selfishness).Her remarks underlined that in course of the BJP’s 25-year journey, the party had not just enjoyed power and success, but had also experienced loss of innocence and integrity. Again quoting from the Shivaji play, she said the BJP today needed selfless soldiers ‘‘jo rukte nahin, jhukte nahin, bikte nahin, thakte nahin (who never stop, never bend, never sell out, never tire.)’’Swaraj’s introspection, however, did not stop her from sharply attacking Congress president Sonia Gandhi who, during a visit to Mumbai yesterday, had warned party workers against ‘‘bhajpakaran (BJPisation).’’Swaraj retorted: ‘‘The BJPisation of the Congress can never take place. For that to happen, the Congress would have to end family rule, end the politics of appeasement, end vote-bank politics, give up corruption which is in their very life blood.’’Changez Khan makes special appearanceMumbai: Former Union minister C P Thakur stunned delegates by comparing L K Advani and Atal Behari Vajpayee’s contribution to the party to the rise of Mongol invader Changez Khan’s army from a “band of three men”.“I tried but could not find a parallel in any democratic set-up. It is said that Changez Khan’s reign began when three men first met and the meeting was described as the smallest army in the world,” he said. — PTI
