Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj accused the Election Commission and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati of adopting double standards in the case of Varun Gandhi,against whom NSA was invoked after he was booked for hate speeches during election campaign. "The very same Election Commission which was advising the BJP not to set up Varun as a candidate saw nothing wrong in criminals like Mukhtar Ansari and Atiq Ahmed contesting the elections," Sushma told reporters in Bhopal. Similarly,Mayawati had slapped the National Security Act (NSA) on Varun,but took no action against people like Ansari who have been given the BSP ticket for Lok Sabha polls,she said. Answering a question,the BJP leader said that personally she was against the use of intemperate language by any person in politics. Sushma said that in her view even the most harsh and strong words could be delivered with a lot of politeness and without losing any sense of control. She said that there was no question of the BJP distancing itself from remarks made by Varun. The BJP leader said that her party's reaction to Varun was determined by the erroneous manner in which the Election Commission and Mayawati had treated him. To a question on whether there would be polarisation of votes if Varun campaigns in Madhya Pradesh and whether the same logic applies to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi or not,she said that Modi's campaign model is development of Gujarat and therefore there is a difference between the two. BJP has already submitted a list of 40 leaders who would campaign for the party to Election Commission and now it will not amend it,she said. On Advani's statement that the prime minister should be from Lok Sabha and if the NDA would table a bill on the issue,she said the party was not saying that a person from Rajya Sabha should not become PM. "Indira Gandhi and P V Narasimha Rao became prime ministers from the Upper House but subsequently contested Lok Sabha polls within six months to get a berth in the Lower House of Parliament," she said. The present prime minister continued for the whole term as Rajya Sabha member and is not contesting polls even now and Advani has made a remark about the issue in this context,she said. On the issue of Women's Reservation Bill,she said BJP was of the view that if it was possible to reserve 33 per cent seats as proposed by the Bill in present form,then it would be better if it was made mandatory at the party level.
