Announcing that former JNU student union president Kanhaiya Kumar would be campaigning in his favour in Bhopal, Congress candidate in Bhopal Digvijay Singh claimed that Kumar never raised anti-India slogans.
While addressing a public meeting of Communist Party of India here on Sunday, Singh claimed there was confusion over Kumar in his party for his alleged anti-national remarks but he was firm that the Congress should have given the seat (Begusaray) to the CPI.
“I am sure Kanhaiya and his associates never raised tukde-tukde slogans,” affirmed Singh claiming lies were spread and it was a private news channel who lined up BJP/RSS workers and got them to raise tukde-tukde slogans and defamed Kanhaiya and his colleagues.
He however did not name the news channel. He even said that Kanhaiya and others should be honourered as they are associated with an ideology and were fighting communalism. Singh also announced that Kumar would be in Bhopal and address election rallies in his favour on May 8 and 9.
Singh was all praised for the Left saying it was the only political stream which was devoted to an ideology.
He also claimed that Congress was a movement like a rainbow and had all the shades from right to left to centre.
He recounted there were talks post 2003 that his presence costs votes to the Congress so he had disassociated himself from the elections but when he saw the BJP and RSS were gaining strength and Congress was silent, he decided that he would not be silent.
He invoked Karl Marx who used to say that religion was opium claiming that in our country’s context, religious fundamentalism is opium.
The religious fundamentalists are fanning hatred which is causing violence, opined Singh.