Congress to hold press conferences across India on Saturday to 'expose' BJP

Seeking to corner the ruling BJP over the issue of terror and its alleged links with terrorists, the Congress will on Saturday hold a series of press conferences in 22 cities across the country.

Congress leaders said the aim is to counter the BJP's "fake nationalism claims" and to take the message to the grassroots level that the ruling party has "connections" with individuals who have indulged in heinous crimes and terror acts.

The Congress has alleged that one of the prime accused in the killing of tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur was a BJP member. It has also released his photographs with BJP leaders in Rajasthan.

The BJP, however, denied any links with such elements and claimed that some of them had clicked pictures with its leaders after infiltrating the party ranks.

The Congress also claimed that one of the 'terrorists' nabbed by people in Reasy town in Srinagar recently was an office-bearer of the BJP's minority cell in Jammu and Kashmir, a charge denied by the BJP leadership in the Union territory.

This is the second series of press conferences being organised by the Congress party, after the first such effort was made against the new "Agnipath" scheme on short-term recruitment in defence forces.

The Congress has decided to take the BJP head-on over issues of national importance, and the party will continue to hold countrywide pressers to take its message to the people and to "expose" the claims of the BJP.

Top Congress leaders who are going to address the press conferences include Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda in Ahmedabad, Shaktisinh Gohil in Jaipur, Ajoy Kumar in Mumbai, Uttar Kumar Reddy in Bangalore, former Union minister M M Pallam Raju in Chennai, media and publicity head Pawan Khera in Raipur, Rajeev Gowda in Kolkata, Ranjeet Ranjan in Guwahati and Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka in Visakhapatnam.