The party also sought to project Gandhi's comments as a reaction to Advani's criticism of her in his recently released memoir and said she needs to inculcate a "democratic temperament".

BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Kandahar hijacking was a "painful episode" and even the Congress had at that time asked the government to take all steps to secure the safe release of the passengers.

"To harp on this issue again and again is very unfortunate," he said. He said the UPA government's track record against terrorism is "dismal" and it was evident from the fact that the capital punishment of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru has not happened and there is no appeal against the acquittal of Abdul Nasser Madhani in the Coimbatore blast case. Linking Gandhi's attack to Advani's book, Prasad said the Leader of the Opposition showed statesmanship by presenting a copy of the book to her and it should be taken in the right democratic spirit.