Sonia stooping to conquer — Vajpayee

The Prime Minister was apparently referring to Sonia’s speech at Delhi and Nagpur on Friday in which she used phrases like "insaniyat ke dushman" and "satta ke saudagar" for BJP and the RSS.

"Our success has resulted in our opponents adopting an unpredictable behaviour. We have also been in the Opposition for a very long time, but we have never stooped so low," Vajpayee was quoted by party general secretary M Venkaiah Naidu to have told the BJP executive.

Vajpayee, however, advised his partymen to exercise restraint and maintain a dignified posture. "We must endeavour to raise the level of debate on this issue. The debate must be constitutional and not provocative as some Opposition leaders are indulging in," he said.

Charging the Congress with adopting political negativism from Pokharan to Kargil, the Prime Minister said that the party had misinformed the nation on what it had told Bill Clinton.

Vajpayee said that the Congress party delegation told President Clinton that India needed a minimum nuclear deterrent. The Congress spokesman duly informed the media about her deliberations. Later, the party denied having ever said this. Petty political considerations resulted in this political somersault, Vajpayee observed.

Referring to Sports Minister S S Dhindsa’s statement on legalising betting in cricket, he cautioned the allies to be very careful about their statements. They must resist the temptation to speak-out-of-turn too frequently, he added.