Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was resorting to “low-level” attacks against his party because he is aware that his Bharatiya Janata Party will lose the Lok Sabha election, The Hindu reported.
The Rajya Sabha member reiterated that the Congress, as a part of its poll campaign, has cautioned that the BJP plans to amend the Constitution if voted to power, as evidenced by the Hindutva party’s own MPs and candidates clarifying that they require 400 Lok Sabha seats to do so.
“So, finally, there is only one agenda [of the BJP’s]: Hindu-Muslim, Hindu-Muslim and polarise,” Venugopal said in an interview with the newspaper.
Venugopal was responding to a question about statements that the ruling party’s leaders have made on the campaign trail about needing an overwhelming majority in the Lower House of Parliament in order to prevent the Congress from diverting reservations in government jobs and education to Muslims, and to prevent the Opposition INDIA bloc from running a bulldozer over the recently inaugurated Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Modi and other leaders of the BJP have claimed that the Congress intends to create reservations for Muslims at the cost of reservations intended for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
The Congress manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections does not talk about religion-based reservations for any community.
It states: “We will ensure that the minorities receive their fair share of opportunities in education, healthcare, public employment, public works contracts, skill development, sports and cultural activities without discrimination.”
Modi had also said at an election rally that the Opposition would “run a bulldozer” over the Ram temple in Ayodhya if it is voted to power.
The Ram temple in Ayodhya is built on the site of the Babri mosque, which was demolished by Hindutva extremists in December 1992 because they believed that it stood on the spot where the Hindu deity Ram was born. The incident had triggered communal riots across the country.
“He [Modi] is banking on only two or three weapons,” Venugopal said to The Hindu. “It is a low level attack to divide the people of this country. People are now realising that whenever elections come, Modi ji will use these type of weapons.”
In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, at least three BJP leaders – Anantkumar Hegde, Jyoti Mirdha and Lallu Singh – have hinted at major changes to the Constitution if the Hindutva party gains a majority in both the Houses of Parliament.
Modi, too, has said that the National Democratic Alliance, led by the BJP, requires more than 400 seats in Parliament.
The Opposition has also alleged that the BJP intends to abolish all reservations in government education and jobs if voted to power, and that it plans to entirely do away with democratic elections.
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