J P Nadda counters Oppn
New Delhi: Amid the rising communal tension in many parts of the country- the ruling BJP left no stones unturned to attack the Opposition parties, especially the Congress and accused the party of appeasement of 'vote-bank' politics. The party chief Jagat Prakash Nadda wrote an open letter to citizens on Monday, which mentioned, "I want to remind the rejected and dejected political parties-since you talk about vote bank politics, why have you forgotten the shameful happenings in Karol, Rajasthan?"
Nadda's letter comes after a joint statement by the 13 opposition parties on Saturday. Making a scathing attack on them, the BJP national president added, "A group of parties have come together yet again to wage a direct onslaught on the spirit of our nation and cast aspersions on our hardworking citizens."
Expressing deep concern over the recent incidents of communal violence and hate, leaders of the Opposition parties urged people to maintain peace and harmony and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence over those who 'propagate' hate. The leaders including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, raised concern and alleged how issues relating to food, dress, faith, festivals and language are being deliberately used by the ruling establishment to polarise society.
So far incidents of communal violence have been reported from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Among these states, Bharatiya Janata Party is ruling in four states.
However, countering the claim of opposition leaders, Nadda alleged, "Indian politics has undergone a rapid transformation in the last 8 years. The tried, tested or I should say dusted and rusted approach of vote bank politics, divisive politics, and selective politics is no longer working."
Further, the BJP national president pointed out meticulously various incidents of communal riots and violence under erstwhile Congress and opposition-led governments in the past.
"In November 1966, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi opened fire on Hindu sadhus sitting outside Parliament who had marched towards Delhi with the demand of banning cow slaughter in India. Who can forget Rajiv Gandhi's infamous words 'when a big tree falls, the Earth shakes' that justified the killing of thousands of Sikhs in the wake of PM Indira Gandhi's death," he wrote.
"Gujarat in 1969, Moradabad 1980, Bhiwandi 1984, Meerut 1987, various incidents against Hindus in the Kashmir Valley throughout the 1980s, Bhagalpur 1989, Hubballi 1994…. the list of communal violence during Congress rule is long. Under which government did the Muzzaffarnagar riots happen in 2013 and Assam in 2012?," Nadda questioned.
He also stated the National Advisory Council proposed the Communal Violence Bill of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government as "a new low of vote bank politics". He also mentioned the recent trolling of music maestro Ilaiyaraja by "elements aligned to the ruling party in Tamil Nadu in verbally lynching, smearing and humiliating one of India's tallest musical maestros just because his views are not palatable to one political party and their allies."
In his sharp attack, Nadda also referred to political violence in West Bengal. "The shameful political violence in West Bengal and Kerala, and the repeated killing and targeting of BJP workers offers a glimpse of how some of our political parties view politics."
Leaving no stones unturned, he attacked the coalition government in Maharashtra and mentioned the arrest of two cabinet ministers.
Nadda also wrote that "... horrific measures against Dalits and Tribes have been taken under Congress regime." "Dyed in the wool proponents of vote bank politics that they are, these parties are fearing that their shenanigans are being finally exposed," he mentioned.
The BJP national president further claimed that the recent results of the Assembly polls should be an "eye-opener" for such parties and that the youth of India wanted "opportunities and not obstacles" urging the opposition parties to embrace the "politics of development" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Not only the party's top leadership, the spokespersons and other BJP leaders also seem to have come out in support of the party line and blamed the Congress and other parties for disrupting harmony among communities. They have also called the joint statement 'fake'.
