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Modi govt mixing religion, politics: Kharge
“Everyone has faith in God but ‘raj’ (governance) is different, ‘dharma’ is different. But here, they (BJP) have mixed up everything…" Kharge said.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for trying to become the 11th “avatar” of Lord Vishnu and accused his government of mixing religion and politics to seek votes.
“When you wake up in the morning, and turn on the TV, you won’t see Lord Ram’s face or any religious gurus, but PM Modi’s face. He is trying to become the 11th avatar of Lord Vishnu,” Kharge said while addressing a ‘Karyakarta Sammelan’ (convention of party workers) at Bannu School Ground in Dehradun.
“Everyone has faith and trust in God but ‘raj’ (governance) is different, ‘dharma’ is different. But here, they (BJP) have mixed up everything. And when you combine religion and country together, it becomes hard to identify what is good and what is bad,” he added.
READ | Foundational pillars of the Constitution under attack from govt itself: Kharge
He also said that while Congress leaders have laid down their lives for the country, the BJP has never made any such sacrifices. “Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed their lives to keep the country united. Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehru spent years in jail to achieve freedom. What has the BJP done,” he asked.
A party which has done nothing for the country is teaching people about the country, independence and patriotism, Kharge said as he continued to attack the BJP. “Congress leaders sacrificed their lives for the sake of the country’s independence...the RSS or BJP did not even lose a watchman in the freedom struggle,” he said.
Kharge also slammed the BJP over the violence during the Congress’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in Assam last week. “When our yatra entered Assam, where the BJP is in power, they obstructed the yatra, pelted stones on vehicles, and our posters were torn. No such incident happened when Rahul Gandhi took out the yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. But, we will not be intimidated. Until we have the support of people, we can’t be frightened,” he said.
The BJP hit back at Kharge, saying his visits to Uttarakhand will not benefit the Congress electorally. “The people of the state have made up their mind to bring the BJP back to power. The people of the ‘devbhoomi’ won’t forgive the anti-state, anti-development, and anti-Sanatani Congress in the upcoming elections,” state BJP chief Mahendra Bhatt said.
