Murli Manohar Joshi slams Digvijay Singh

Terming Digvijay Singh's remarks relating to slain ATS chief Hemant Karkare as irresponsible, BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi today asked the Congress leadership to explain how such a person was holding the post of the General Secretary in the party.

Even Kavita Karkare, widow of Hemant Karkare, had been hurt by Digvijay's remarks, Joshi told reporters in Varanasi.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had to do a lot of explaining on how such a person was holding an important post in their party, he said.

Digvijay had stoked a controversy when he recently said the slain Mumbai ATS chief had told him hours before the 26/11 terror strikes that he feared for his safety from Hindu extremists.

On the opposition's demand for a joint parliamentary party probe into the second-generation mobile telephony spectrum allocation, Joshi said if this was not met, the matter would be taken before the people's court.

A rally of political parties would be held in Delhi on December 22 to highlight the issue, he said.

On the Varanasi blast, Joshi asked the UP government to formulate a foolproof security plan for vulnerable places.