New Delhi, Oct. 4: The Congress has attacked L.K. Advani’s view that the “law had upheld faith” in the Ayodhya case as “atrocious politicisation”.

The Congress’s official position is that no one should make a “value judgment” till the legal process reaches its end in the Supreme Court. But its specific objection to Advani’s assertion, expressed though his latest blog, is rooted in the Sangh parivar’s well-known position that courts cannot decide matters of faith.

“It is atrocious politicisation,” Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natrajan said today.

“Advani, the BJP and other parivar outfits have always maintained that courts cannot adjudicate on matters of faith. How can they now turn around to say that the courts have upheld faith? We think nobody should try to play politics on the issue but the BJP is doing just that.”

Attacking the BJP, however, does not help dilute the Congress’s own dilemmas. Asked if the Congress endorsed the view that Allahabad High Court had given preference to faith over facts, Natrajan refused to give a direct answer.

The Congress, which welcomed the verdict as soon as it was announced, has since been avoiding substantive questions on the judgment. The only clear point it has made so far is that the country should wait for the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Still, the party leadership knows that it will have to answer some of the questions sooner or later. Tuesday morning’s Congress Working Committee meeting is expected to discuss the verdict and decide the party’s future responses.

The Congress’s confusion is showing up in many ways. For instance, while party general secretary Digvijay Singh said the Congress would take the initiative for an out-of-court settlement, other leaders said no such decision had yet been taken.

Senior leaders have become cautious following reports of unease within the Muslim community. Attacking the BJP, therefore, is the safest option since some Muslims appear to feel that the Congress has been speaking a language similar to the Sangh parivar’s on the verdict.

As soon as the Congress realised this, it swiftly shifted focus to the Babri demolition and the need to punish those responsible. The party has got another stick to beat the BJP with after the website controversy over visitors to www.bjp.com reaching the Congress portal.

Accused of a “petty” and “pickpocket-like theft” of identity, the Congress has reacted with unexpected vitriol, challenging the BJP to lodge a complaint with the police cyber crime cell.

“The BJP allegation is false, ridiculous, cheap and laughable,” Natrajan said, alleging the BJP’s intemperate language merely showed its bankruptcy of ideas. “We have nothing to do with it and don’t know how it is happening. The bjp.com anyway does not belong to the BJP and is owned by a corporate entity called Bharat Janata Publishers.”

She added: “The Congress by no stretch of imagination is deemed to be interested in acquiring an identity of a failed, non-existent entity.”