New Delhi: Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday dismissed as "silly" the BJP's charge of Centre behind the detention of Varun Gandhi under the National Security Act but steered clear of queries whether the action of Mayawati government was proper.
He also had a dig at senior BJP leader L K Advani for comparing Varun's arrest with that of Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying "decibel level is high during election and it is just sound and fury signifying nothing."
"This is a silly accusation," he said when asked at the AICC briefing whether the UPA government had a role in the detention of the young BJP leader as alleged by the saffron party.
"The problem is that by remaining out of power for five years, the BJP has forgotten the law. What can the central government do? The order was given by the state government," he said, adding that these accusations fall flat.
Refusing to comment on whether invoking NSA was right or wrong in the case, Chidambaram said, "I have a view but cannot express it since representation is likely to come to me. I will deal with it on merit. There is a conflict of interest whether it is right or wrong. It was a quasi judicial matter as the matter is pending in the Supreme Court".