Campaign heat sparks cold war

The heat generated by the harsh words exchanged on the campaign trail between prime minister Manmohan Singh and leader of the opposition LK Advani found its way to Delhi, manifesting itself in cold vibes between the two and a war of words over the father of the Constitution.

Not only did Singh and Advani barely exchange greetings at a formal event in Parliament House marking the birth anniversary of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, but Advani also went on to accuse the Congress of having engineered Ambedkar’s defeat in the first general election in 1952.

The prime minister’s response was swift and clear. “Mr Advani’s statement is factually incorrect,” he said. By late afternoon, Advani declined to attend a dinner hosted by Singh in honour of outgoing Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

In the morning, the prime ministerial candidates of the Congress and the BJP exchanged barely a word though they sat next to each other through the function. As television cameras rested on the two, both looked away from each other, silently following the proceedings. It was left to Chatterjee, CPI leader D Raja, and Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit to bring some animation into the proceedings.