INDIA bloc condemns anti-national forces and stands with Lord Ram, says Nadda

PTI, May 3, 2024, 4:36 PM IST

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J P Nadda on Friday accused the INDIA bloc members of supporting anti-national forces, and alleged that they were against Lord Ram.

He also claimed that the Congress party was trying to change the Constitution to provide reservation to Muslims.

In an election rally in Gujarat’s Dahod, Nadda said several INDIA bloc leaders are either in jail or on bail, and called the grouping an alliance of dynastic parties and corrupt people.

”The UPA government under Sonia Gandhi’s leadership had given an affidavit in the (apex) court saying that Lord Ram is imaginary and there was no historical or scientific basis to prove his existence. They tried to create hurdles, but PM Modi paved the way (for the construction of Lord Ram temple) in the court. After 10 days of rituals, the consecration of Ram Lalla was performed on January 22,” he said.

”When slogans were raised at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in support of Afzal Guru, the mastermind in Parliament attack case who was hanged…The very next day, Rahul Gandhi went to the JNU to support them. He supported the tukde-tukde gang who backed terrorist Afzal Guru, and his party made one of the gang members a Lok Sabha candidate,” Nadda said, referring to Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar.

The Congress has fielded Kanhaiya Kumar from the North East Delhi Lok Sabha seat this time. ”Aren’t they with anti-national forces? Should you vote for them?” he asked.

Accusing the Congress of trying to change the Constitution to grant quota to Muslims, Nadda said, ”Yesterday, the prime minister said in clear words that Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar has said reservation will not be granted in the name of religion but for social justice. But they (Congress) are trying to change the reservation given to the SC, ST and OBC communities to Muslims. It will be akin to looting our Constitution.” He said that PM Modi has challenged the Congress to give in writing that it will not do any such thing.

”Congress works to strengthen those powers that weaken and divide the country,” he said.

Nadda said that 10 years ago, the common man thought that nothing was going to change, and this is how politics worked. ”But when you made Modi the country’s prime minister, the same India is going ahead enthusiastically with the pledge of becoming a developed India,” he said.

”Earlier, politics was done in the name of caste, religion, appeasement, votebank. The politicians earlier did not do anything for the welfare of society but divided it into different castes. They would raise the voice of castes to create a vote bank for themselves,” Nadda said.

But after PM Modi came to power, he challenged this kind of politics and introduced a politics of report card and a politics of development, responsibility and accountability, he said.

Except BJP, every other party used tribals for political purposes. It is the BJP that changed the fate of tribals, he said, adding that PM Modi made a woman from the tribal community the country’s President. ”Modi’s politics led to India’s development, and the poor have benefited from the schemes like health insurance of up to Rs 5 lakh and pucca houses for the poor,” he said.