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‘Petty politics’: Nadda hits out at Opposition letter over communal violence
The BJP chief said the government is cracking down on anti-social elements who “bullied common people”
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief JP Nadda on Monday lashed out at the Opposition for blaming his party for communal violence in the country and said the February-March assembly elections in five states should serve as an “eye-opener” for those thriving on “vote bank politics.”
“India’s largest state on the electoral map (Uttar Pradesh), a coastal state on the western coast (Goa), a state in the north-east (Manipur), and the hill state (Uttarakhand) have given a resounding mandate to the BJP. Due to the BJP, India is seeing a sentiment of pro-incumbency,” Nadda said in a letter addressed to “fellow Indians’’.
He accused Opposition parties of building a narrative against the BJP as the government is cracking down on antisocial elements who ‘’bullied common people.”
‘’Dyed in the wool proponents of vote bank politics that they are, these parties are fearing that their shenanigans are being finally exposed comprehensively. For decades, they freely patronised lumpen, antisocial elements who bullied common people. Now that these elements are being subjected to the laws of the land, the parties which shelter these elements are panicking and thus taking to this bizarre conduct,’’ Nadda wrote.
The letter comes after 13 Opposition parties issued a joint appeal for peace and harmony following communal clashes across the country. They urged the Centre to take strict action against those responsible for the communal violence. The Opposition parties cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “silence’’ on the increasing violence.
“We are extremely anguished at the manner in which issues related to food, dress, faith, festivals, and languages are being deliberately used by sections of the ruling establishment to polarise our society,” the parties. including the Congress ,said in the appeal. The letter came days after violence broke out in at least six states on Ram Navami, leaving at least two people dead.
Nadda hit back, saying the Opposition was trying “to resist” India’s rise under Modi. ‘’Today, India has two distinctive styles of politics – the (ruling) NDA (National Democratic Alliance)’s efforts which are seen in their work, and the petty politics of a group of parties, which is seen in their acerbic words. In the last few days, we have seen these parties come together yet again in a letter (whether in spirit too, time will tell) in which they have waged a direct onslaught on the spirit of our nation and cast aspersions on our hard-working citizens.’’
He rejected the allegation that communal clashes peaked during NDA’s rule. He added in November 1969, when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, Hindu ascetics were fired upon when they were sitting outside Parliament after marching towards Delhi with the demand of banning cow slaughter. He added who can forget “Rajiv Gandhi’s infamous words – when a big tree falls, the earth shakes – that justified the killings of thousands of Sikhs” following Indira Gandhi’s assassination.
Nadda referred to communal violence during the Congress rule. ‘’…Gujarat in 1969, Moradabad in 1980, Bhiwandi in 1984, Meerut in 1987...incidents against the Hindus in Kashmir Valley throughout the 1980s, 1989 Bhagalpur, 1994 Hubli… The list of communal violence during Congress rule is long. Under which government did the Muzaffarnagar riots happen in 2013 or the Assam riots in 2012?’’
Nadda called the National Advisory Council, which was set up to advise the Prime Minister in 2004 and dissolved in 2014, an extra-constitutional body. He added it brought in the “most horrific communal violence Bill’’. “The most horrific massacres against Dalits and Tribals have taken place under the Congress regime. This is the same Congress that even got Dr Ambedkar defeated in Parliamentary elections,” he said.
Nadda hit out at West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) over “shameful political violence’’ in the state. He also referred to “repeated killing and targeting of BJP workers” in Kerala. Nadda added it offers a glimpse of “how some of a political parties view democracy.”
Nadda said two cabinet ministers in Maharashtra were arrested on serious charges of corruption, extortion, and links with antisocial elements, referring to former minister Anil Deshmukh, who was arrested in November last year, and state minister Nawab Malik, who was arrested in March this year.
Reacting to the BJP chief’s letter, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said: “Mr Nadda, for 53-years after Independence, the RSS refused to hoist the national flag. Your government has systematically weakened our most sacred text, the Indian constitution and has weakened every institution. Your party and government continue to feed the masses the opium of communal polarization by inciting violence and hatred. You actually do so to distract people away from the main issues that threaten their existence - price rise, unemployment and a shattered hope for the future.”
“While parts of India are ravaged by riots and violence, why is the Prime Minister so conspicuously silent? Why does he not denounce hatred, no matter where it comes from? Why do perpetrators of hate get political patronage? Why are those who incite violence rewarded and most of all why are youth being incentivised to attack and abuse? Your attempts to perpetuate hate, stoke communal tension and divide are dangerous for our nation and our people,” he added.
