Opening the Congress’ Lok Sabha campaign in Uttarakhand, party president Mallikarjun Kharge told workers at a convention in Dehradun that religion and politics should be kept separate.
He also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that he was trying to be the eleventh avatar of Lord Vishnu. “Every time you switch on TV, Modi is seen holding forth,” he said.
Maintaining that religion was a matter of personal faith, he said that everybody believed in God and had faith in him. Religion and politics must be kept separate, he said, accusing Mr. Modi of trying to mix the two. When things get mixed up, it becomes difficult to make a choice between the right and the wrong, he added.
‘No sacrifices by BJP’
He also attacked the government for the Agniveer scheme. “They promised jobs, instead they gave the Agniveer scheme. After the four year tenure, the young men are left on the streets without employment,” he said. He also accused the Modi government of squeezing reservations in the appointment of university teaching staff.
Questioning the BJP’s claims of nationalism and patriotism, Mr. Kharge challenged the party leaders to name a single sacrifice any of its party leaders had made during the freedom struggle or after the country became independent. While the BJP’s forebears would take employment with the British, he said, Congress leaders and workers like Pandit Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi went to jail.
He pointed out that Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had also sacrificed their lives to safeguard the unity and integrity of the country. “And you have the audacity to teach us patriotism and nationalism,” the Congress president asserted.
