Patna, Oct. 13: Emboldened by the Congress’s failure to adhere to its announced plan of showing black flags to the Jan Chetna Yatra of L.K. Advani, the BJP has now challenged the very existence of the party in Bihar.

“Does the Congress have any existence in Bihar?” asked C.P. Thakur, the BJP Bihar unit president, during the course of a news meet here today. He was replying to a query regarding the aggressive mood of the BJP workers during the Bihar leg of the yatra, which might have forced the Congress workers to avoid showing black flags as was announced by their leaders a day before the yatra got underway.

Thakur didn’t stop after questioning the existence of the party, which is leading the coalition government at the Centre, rather he went on to question the basis of any such plan. “How on earth can anyone oppose a person who has taken a stand against corruption and also who is trying to motivate people of the country to oppose corrupt ones tooth and nail?” he asked.

Replying to a query regarding the reported statement of RJD chief Lalu Prasad in which he had said the land of Bihar needed to be purified after Advani’s visit, the BJP president said: “Lalu himself needs purification and the society will purify him.”

Thakur, who rarely attacks political opponents in news meets, appeared to be in an aggressive mood today as was evident from his reaction on Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s reported statement that Tejinder Pal Singh Bagga, the youth who attacked Prashant Bhushan on Wednesday, was associated with the BJP. “Digivijay Singh has lost his credibility and no one takes him seriously,” he said.

Apart from bashing the Opposition, the BJP president also spoke at length about the Bihar leg of Advani’s yatra and thanked the people for extending support to the journey. “During the entire course of the yatra, people were standing on both sides of the road and it shows that Advaniji has taken up an issue against which there is angst among the people of the country,” he said.

He accepted that when Advani had raised the same issue during the 2009 elections, people had not responded the way they were responding during the course of the yatra.

Thakur said the timing of the yatra was very important as the issue of corruption had taken centrestage in the country and people want to get rid of it at any cost.

The BJP president, who also suffered the carbon monoxide leak in the bus in which Advani is travelling said it was a very bad experience but despite feeling weak, ensured that other leaders who fell ill because of the leakage were immediately taken to the hotel and were given medical aid.