Author: PTI
Publication: The Times of India
Date: May 29, 2005
BJP on Saturday took exception to
the absence of Congress and UPA leaders at a function in Parliament House
to pay tribute to freedom fighter and Sangh Parivar icon Veer Savarkar
on his 122nd birth anniversary.
Protesting against their absence,
BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj claimed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam
Nabi Azad had promised to attend the ceremony but did not turn up though
his staff did.
Attributing Azad's decision to "directions"
from party higher-ups, she said, "the minister has to rise above party
politics".