The BSP and the Congress have slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly trying to communally polarise the nation for electoral gains. While Mayawati said Modi’s desperation showed the BJP is planning to advance the lok Sabha polls, the Congress on Sunday accused the PM of having a “sick mindset” and disrespecting history.
Mayawati said from the way the BJP and Modi are advocating issues such as shamshan-kabristan (cremation place and graveyard), talaq, Hindu-Muslim, fake news against the Opposition, casteism and communalism. It seems there is disappointment and it is possible that the lok Sabha elections may be held this year ahead of schedule, she said.
“By toppling the Mehbooba Mufti-led Government in Jammu & Kashmir, the BJP has already prepared the ground (for early elections),” the BSP chief said.
Mayawati termed the speeches delivered by the Prime Minister in Azamgarh and Mirzapur as “misleading”. The BSP chief said the top leadership of the BJP is feeling frustrated and disappointed after having failed to form the Government in Karnataka.
Mayawati also hit back at the BJP after the Prime Minister accused the previous Governments of neglecting the people and not completing developmental projects in time.
“Why is the Prime Minister shying away from accepting thisIJ” the former Chief Minister asked in a statement, hours after Modi blamed the previous Governments by non-BJP parties for delays in completion of various schemes and projects.
Stung by Modi claims that the Congress was practising the policy of Muslim appeasement, the Congress launched vicious attack on the PM.
“The Prime Minister has continuously hurt the dignity of his office. We strictly oppose what he said yesterday. It shows his sick mentality and twisted mindset,” senior Congress spokesperson and former Union Minister Anand Sharma said.
Sharma said Modi was the PM of the entire country and not just the BJP. The Congress had led the freedom struggle and nationalist movements and calling it a “Muslim party” was not befitting of a PM, the Congress leader said.
“There is an attempt by him to divide society... His main Opposition, the INC, has led the national movement, spearheaded the fight for Independence... To call it a Muslim party does not behove a PM.
“His sick mindset is an issue of national concern. The Prime Minister gives out statements which are wrong as per history and facts,” Sharma said.
He said Modi had “less knowledge of history and writes his own history”. Modi needs to be reminded that Congress presidents such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, lala lajpat Rai, and Maulana Azad were iconic leaders, he said.
“It will be better if he keeps a list of Congress presidents in his office. May be then he will leave his habit of giving wrong statements,” Sharma said. The Congress, he said, was a party “for all Indians and respects the diversity the country has to offer”.
He also said the Congress was against triple talaq and the Prime Minister should know that there were some rules and regulations that need to be followed in Parliament.
“This Government has tried time and again to bypass Parliament. They want to get Bills approved without the scrutiny of Parliament,” he alleged.
Modi during his speech in Azamgarh on Saturday had come down heavily on the Congress over its stand on triple talaq, asking if it was a party for Muslim men alone.
“The Congress does not need any certificate from Narendra Modi or the BJP about its credentials, ideologies or credibility and commitment to the country. It is very well documented,” he said.
Sharma also said that he can understand the Prime Minister’s helplessness as he belonged to an ideology, the followers of which had even opposed Mahatma Gandhi.
The Congress also alleged the Modi Government provided false data about the upliftment of people from below poverty line.
The Prime Minister’s claim that five crore people have been lifted out of poverty in two years was “laughable”, Sharma said.