Dikshit junks Sahara documents; double standards, says BJP

Former Delhi CM says she is surprised the Congress put such a list out on its Twitter handle

While Rahul Gandhi recently targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the 'Sahara diaries' bribery issue, a controversy erupted with the Congress party putting out a list linked to it on Twitter. The list also had reference to its own leader, former Delhi chief minister  Sheila Dikshit, who was prompt in junking the document.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) immediately latched on to the issue, saying there could not be double standards and that Rahul Gandhi was "whipping a dead horse". It also clarified that the Supreme Court had already cleared the matter. Parties like the Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal and Nationalist Congress Party, meanwhile, demanded that everyone mentioned in the diaries should be probed.

Dikshit, who is also the Congress' chief ministerial candidate for Uttar Pradesh, strongly denied the charges and trashed the documents, saying the Supreme Court had already made its observations on them. "There is no iota of truth in the allegations. I totally reject these allegations," she said.

Asked about the Congress putting out the "list" publicly on its twitter handle, she said: "It surprised me".

She, however, said she had nothing to do with the issue and refused to speak further, saying the matter was sub judice. Sources close to her said she might take up the matter with the party.

"The list has so many names. Then why are you focusing on Sheila Dikshit. I don't even remember anything like this. There are names of other chief ministers. Why don't you talk about them? Why only Sheila Dikshit?" she said.

BJP national Secretary Siddharth Nath Singh said: "There cannot be double standards, but Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and their spokespersons are making stupid mistakes time and again. A horse has died and its death has been certified by the Supreme Court."

Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, he said the Congress leader "should have gained wisdom by now; he is no more a child".

JD(U) leader K C Tyagi said, "I want that the Sahara diaries should now be made public and all the people named in it should be questioned."

"There are accusations against Sheila Dikshit, Raman Singh and Shivraj (Singh Chouhan) and some other leaders that they have received money from Sahara and that is why we demand that the entire list should be made public," he alleged.

RJD leader Manoj Kumar said immediate action should be taken and a probe should be carried out by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, irrespective of who has been named in the list.

"Because we don't want to target an individual, we don't want the Prime Minister's position losing its credibility in front of the entire world, and this is our priority," he said.

Majeed Memon of NCP said, "It does not matter if the person is from Congress or BJP or is a PM or a former CM. "If someone has committed a crime and he/she is being accused, he/she should be dealt with in accordance with the law."

Just days earlier, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that Narendra Modi had taken money from Sahara and Birla groups as Gujarat chief minister -- a charge rejected by BJP -- and demanded an independent inquiry into it.

The ruling party had said the "baseless, false, shameful and mala fide" allegations were an attempt to divert attention from the AgustaWestland probe as names of Congress leaders and the "family" were coming up.