Congress accuses Advani of diverting nation's attention through PM letter

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Congress Party on Sunday charged Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran Lal Krishna Advani of attempting to divert the nation's attention through his controversial blog.

Reacting to Advani's letter to the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, demanding electoral reforms, senior Congress leader from Uttarakhand Harish Rawat said: "He (Lal Krishna Advani) wants to divert attention from his recent blog posting. The party is going through some internal turmoil, and Advani has come up with a new issue. He knows very well that the selection committee constituted for the selection of Election Commissioner is working very well."

"Our Election Commission has been praised in the entire world. The way the election commission has successfully conducted all the elections, I think we need to salute that process," Rawat added.

Samajwadi Party leader Shahid Siddiqui said Advani should have avoided writing such a letter to the Prime Minister at this point of time.

"I think the process has been good enough. It has produced one of the best Election Commissioners the world has seen. Everyone has been above board. I think there is no immediate need for changing the process of choosing the Election Commissioner or creating any other controversy," said Siddiqui

"But it is Advaniji's choice, and Advaniji is on a mission these days to fight everybody around. So, if he is fighting Modi on one hand, then he needs to fight Manmohan Singh on the other hand. And therefore, he is trying to prove that he is absolutely neutral. I have great respect for Advaniji. But I think this is not an issue, which was required to be raised at this juncture," he added.

Advani has in his letter written to the Prime Minister today asked for changes in the system of selection, and sought a new collegium to pick the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).

"The present system of selection does not enjoy people's confidence," he said.

Advani has also suggested that the collegium should consist of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, the Law Minister and Leaders of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.