New Delhi, Nov. 17: The BJP has slammed the Congress for its silence on Nandigram and asked the Prime Minister and the party president to “come on record” whether the violence in the Bengal block had their “stamp of approval”.

Stung by today’s AICC deliberations, where the BJP was criticised for “attempts… to divide people” during its rule, spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said the “deafening silence” of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi over the CPM’s “atrocities” on Muslims in Nandigram was “shocking”.

“Does their continued silence indicate that their conscience has been effectively overshadowed by the compulsions of power and the urge to hold on to it at any cost?” he asked.

The BJP spokesperson said the Congress and the UPA should introspect on their performance and character.

“The only glue that binds this government and the coalition of opportunism is the patent hatred of the UPA constituents towards the BJP, whose impeccable nationalistic credentials are well known,” he said.

Jaya salvo

The Centre “should intervene” in Bengal if the CPM-led government there was unable to rein in the violence or the repression let loose in Nandigram, ADMK chief Jayalalithaa has said, adds our special correspondent from Chennai.

The continuing episodes of violence and the acts of high-handedness there over the past one week was a matter of serious concern and “very worrying”, she stressed.