Cong hits back, says BJP trying to divert public attention on eve of Monsoon Session
Dubbing the Congress a Muslim party, the BJP on Friday cautioned that the Opposition party is playing a "dangerous game" of creating communal division, and planning to fight 2019 elections on religious lines. It said the Congress would be solely responsible if this leads to communal disharmony and riots in the country.
In a tit for tat, Congress refuted the BJP's charges as pure lies, and said such falsehood is being spread as the BJP wants to distract the people's attention from real issues.
Basing her allegations on a report published in an Urdu daily, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Congress president Rahul Gandhi told Muslim intellectuals in an interaction that his party will now do 'course correction' and it is actually a Muslim party.
"He was probably referring to his Janeu Dhari role (referring to Congress describing Rahul as Janeu-Dhari during Somnath temple row at the time of Gujarat elections) ...I am sorry, I went off the track by telling I'm a Janeu Dhari. I am not that, I am actually a Muslim Dhari now," said Sitharaman.
"Is this true... Mr Gandhi and the Congress must answer," she said.
Sitharaman accused the Congress of playing a "dangerous game", alleging the effort to divide the country on religious lines resembles what happened in 1947 when Pakistan was carved out of India.
"If the objective is to fight the 2019 election on religious grounds, we fear that there could be a conspiracy for riots in communal sensitive areas... If there is communal tension, the responsibility lies with Congress. Because in this interaction, he has announced that the Congress is a Muslim party," Sitharaman said.
Referring to Shashi Tharoor's 'Hindu Pakistan' remark and Congress minister in Karnataka ZA Khan favouring establishing of Shariat courts in the country, the defence minister said the minority appeasement, which the Congress openly professed for a long time, has now reached a crescendo.
Hitting back, Congress leader Sushmita Dev requested Sitharaman not to polarise the country and instead tell the nation the truth of Rs 58,000 crore Rafale deal.
"We are only days away from the monsoon session of Parliament where the Modi government has absolutely no answers about the complete mess they have made in Jammu and Kashmir, about the inflation, the price rise in fuel prices. It is but expected that Defence Minister should take up the issues which are unnecessary to create a controversy and move away the people's attention from the real issues," she said.
"Polarisation is the only thing. The Prime Minister finally falls back before every election, whether he talks about Shamshan and Kabristan....If you have the courage, please take a suo motu statement in this Monsoon Session and reply to the nation that how Rafale scam happened under your nose, Sitharaman ji," Dev said.
It also asked the BJP to speak up why mandirs & idols of Lord Shiva are being demolished in the name of 'vikas' in PM Modi's parliamentary constituency Banaras.
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