SHIMLA, Feb 20: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said on Thursday the opposition had launched a dirty tricks campaign against him by calling him a beef eater.

“I have seen posters, pamphlets saying that Vajpayee eats beef. This is absolutely false and baseless,” Mr Vajpayee told a public meeting in Himachal Pradesh.

“If the Congress does not stop this false propaganda at once, it could incite violence across the country,” he added.

“I have an experience of over fifty years in public life, but nobody has ever hit me below the belt. The Congress has gone too far this time.”—AFP