New Delhi: JP Nadda, chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), slammed the opposition for blaming his party for the communal violence in recent times, saying the February-March assembly elections in five states should serve as a “eye-opener” for those who thrive on “vote bank politics.”
“India’s largest state on the electoral map [Uttar Pradesh], a coastal state on the western coast [Goa], a state in the north-east [Manipur], and the hill state [Uttarakhand] have given a resounding mandate to the BJP. Due to the BJP, India is seeing a sentiment of pro-incumbency…,” Nadda said in a letter addressed to “fellow Indians”.
He thereby, accused the Opposition parties of building a narrative against the BJP as the government is cracking down on anti-social elements who ”bullied common people.”
”…Dyed in the wool proponents of vote bank politics that they are, these parties are fearing that their shenanigans are being finally exposed comprehensively. For decades, they freely patronised lumpen, antisocial elements who bullied common people. Now that these elements are being subjected to the laws of the land, the parties which shelter these elements are panicking and thus taking to this bizarre conduct,” Nadda wrote.
Following communal riots across the country, notably in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, 13 Opposition parties issued a unified appeal for peace and harmony in the country. They urged the government to punish individuals who were responsible for the communal violence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “silence” on the rising violence was also highlighted by the opposition parties.
”…We are extremely anguished at the manner in which issues related to food, dress, faith, festivals, and languages are being deliberately used by sections of the ruling establishment to polarise our society,” the parties including the Congress said in the appeal.
Sonia Gandhi, the Congress leader, also penned an essay in a newspaper, accusing the ruling party of eroding the “composite and syncretic basis of Indian society and nationhood.”
Nadda hit back saying the Opposition was trying “to resist” India’s rise under Modi. ”Today, India has two distinctive styles of politics – the [ruling] NDA [National Democratic Alliance]’s efforts which are seen in their work, and the petty politics of a group of parties, which is seen in their acerbic words. In the last few days, we have seen these parties come together yet again in a letter (whether in spirit too, time will tell) in which they have waged a direct onslaught on the spirit of our nation and cast aspersions on our hard-working citizens.”
He dismissed claims that communal tensions rose during the NDA’s tenure. He went on to say that in November 1969, when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, Hindu Sadhus were shot outside Parliament after marching to Delhi to urge an end to cow slaughter. Following Indira Gandhi’s assassination, nobody can forget “Rajiv Gandhi’s infamous comments – when a great tree falls, the ground shakes – that justified the killings of thousands of Sikhs.”
Nadda hit out at West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) over “shameful political violence” in the state. He also referred to “repeated killing and targeting of BJP workers” in Kerala. Nadda added it offers a glimpse of “how some of a political parties view democracy.”-
Nadda said two Cabinet ministers in Maharashtra have been arrested on serious charges of corruption, extortion, and links with antisocial elements.
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