BJP sharpens attack on Cong, SP on Hindutva & Jinnah

Varanasi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday sharpened attack on the Congress on the issue of its senior leaders Salman Khurshid and Rashid Alvi allegedly deriding Hindutva and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and his alliance partner Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar for praising Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The BJP attack was launched by deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, who were in the city on Friday to take part in the BJP poll managers meeting for the 2022 UP election. “This is the real face of those who turn ‘bhakts’ (devout) and start visiting temples during elections.. they have now been exposed,” they said while talking to reporters.
Maurya targetted Congress leader Salman Khurshid for reportedly comparing Hindutva with jihadist Islam and terror groups like Islamic State and Boko Haram in his recently released book. “The quotes in his (Khurshid’s) book have insulted the national Hindu organisations, hence they should be removed from his book. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, ‘janeu’ wearing Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who presents herself as a priest, have not uttered even a single word in this episode in the past three days. Their silence is not correct.”
Reacting to Khurshid’s book and Alvi’s remarks, Sharma said, “Some seasonal ‘Rambhakts’ have emerged recently. One of them chanted ‘Ram naam’ after wearing a ‘Ramnaami’ (stole). But, now they have returned to their old tricks. Those who termed Ramsetu as imaginary, could never be the Rambhakts. By their statements, they have made it clear to whom they are loyal."
Senior Congress leader Alvi had recently said that all those raising the slogan of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ are not saints, citing a demon from the Ramayana and urging people to stay alert.
Maurya also took up the issue of Akhilesh bracketing Jinnah with Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel and Rajbhar claiming that the partition of India could have been avoided had Jinnah been made the first PM. “It is too late. Jinnah is buried and now he will not come to help them,” he said.
Sharma said, “Their Jinnahism and Talibani approach is not going to work in state politics as days of appeasement with the help of this ideology are over.”