The Congress spoke of the raging controversy on Defence Minister George Fernandes' remarks on China and the BJP's stance that framing of charges in the Babri Masjid demolition case will have no bearing on the continuance of the ministers concerned. The thrust being that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is ``unable to restrain'' his ministers.

In effect, the Congress is trying to drive a wedge between the BJP and its allies and fielded its foreign affairs cell chairperson Natwar Singh and spokesperson Salman Khursheed for the job. Singh ridiculed Fernandes' claims on China and called the Defence Minister ``the El Nino of the Vajpayee government''.

Singh accused Fernandes of making the ``extraordinary, unnecessary and astonishing'' statement that China was potentiallythe main threat to India. ``You cannot use a private agenda to muddy the waters of the Indian foreign policy,'' Singh said. This was part of the continuing Congress attack on Fernandes who appears to have triggered off a volley of protests from other parties on his China remarks.

The Congress felt that China's response to Fernandes' remarks that he had no basis to what he said -- was a ``serious indictment from a friendly, neighbourhood government''. Singh added there was nothing new about China's perceived aid to Pakistan in building nuclear technology. ``We raised the matter with the Chinese during Rajiv Gandhi's time and they said they would also help us the same way as Pakistan,'' he claimed.

The Congress also refuted the BJP's claim that thawing of Indo-China relations began when Vajpayee was foreign minister in the Morarji Desai government. ``Normalisation began in 1988 with Rajiv Gandhi's visit to China and not when Vajpayee went there in 1979. Vajpayee had to cut short his visit which turned outto be an aborted one,'' Singh said.

Former Union Minister Karan Singh too criticised Fernandes. In a statement today, he said: ``At a time when militant activity in the Jammu region has sharply escalated, and Pakistan's Foreign Minister has made an arrogant and aggressive statement regarding their newly acquired missiles in which he has virtually threatened to obliterate large Indian cities, Fernandes has thought it fit to make a series of off-the-cuff statements regarding our relations with China.''

``Personal opinions publicly expressed can have serious negative implications in the difficult years ahead,'' Karan Singh said.

The Congress also took up the Babri Masjid demolition case. In a shrewd move, the party fielded Khursheed to highlight the differences between the BJP and its allies. ``Even before the appropriate court can frame charges, the BJP government has audaciously announced that the charges will have no consequence for the likes of L K Advani continuing as Home Minister and M M Joshi asHRD Minister,'' Khursheed said.

He then wondered what the BJP's allies have to say. ``Their (the BJP's) general secretary claims it would be committing suicide if they concede the Ayodhya campaign as an offence. In that case, their supporting parties should quickly despatch them through euthanasia to preserve their espoused secularism,'' he added.

The Congress also asked the BJP to ``come clean'' with its proposals on the Prasar Bharati legislation. In another demand, the party asked the Union Government to accept the ``genuine and just demands'' of the striking nurses in Delhi.