Shillong, Aug 24: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday hit out at Karuna Shukla , the niece of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, for accusing that the saffron party was politicising the former Prime Minister’s death for electoral gains in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

“Shukla is with the Congress and she had also contested elections on a Congress ticket. She is trying to politicize it (Vajpayee’s death). It is unfortunate that someone is trying to politicize it. We believe this is far beyond and above politics,” BJP Spokesperson, Nalin S. Kohli told reporters at the BJP office in Shillong on Thursday.

Shukla’s alleged the BJP of being “selfish and doing politics” in the name of the former Prime Minister for electoral gains in 2019.

“May be she (Shukla) wants to remind everybody that she is related to Vajpayee but she parted ways with the BJP several years ago,” he said.

Kohli who is the BJP national spokesperson and in-charge of the party in Meghalaya said that some people have also pointed out why BJP is taking Atal’s ashes across the country.

Kohli attended the prayer meeting where various religious leaders were also present at t6he BJP office to offer prayer and pay tribute to the former Prime Minister.

“We don’t see it as a political exercise.”This is not the first time this has happened. It happened with several Prime Minister before Atal, like Nerhru and Indira Gandhi’s ashes also went to several states of the country,” Kohli said.

He said that the opportunity to people to offer their homage was not a new opportunity or a political opportunity but a mark of respect.

Several leaders across party lines and religious leaders of various faith offered floral tribute to the urns containing the ashes of former Prime Minister at the BJP headquarters in Shillong on Friday evening.

Kohli said the idea of taking Vajpayee’s ashes to different states across the country was an opportunity for those who loved him and have affection for him wish to pay their respects now that he is no longer with us it was opportunity for that.

“Vajpayee was the longest serving non-Congress Prime Minister. He was a person who was loved across all party lines. He steered India through a very important period of India where there was expansion of infrastructure of India assuming the world of a self reliance of being super power in the making,” Kohli said.