Chitrakoot/Fatehpur (Uttar Pradesh): BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday slammed the Congress over Sam Pitroda's "racist" remarks and said that an advisor of Rahul Gandhi talked about dividing India on the basis of colour of skin.
He also said that at one time in Uttar Pradesh bullets were fired on the devotees of Lord Ram, but now flowers are showered on them. Nadda made the remarks while addressing election rallies in UP's Chitrakoot and Fetehpur.
In Chitrakoot, the BJP chief also claimed that the Congress wants to usurp the rights of Dalits, tribals, and backwards by giving reservations on the basis of religion.
"A general and advisor of Rahul Gandhi has talked about dividing India on the basis of colour of skin. Such people are playing with the culture of India," he said. Pitroda stoked a major controversy with his remarks during a podcast where he cited ethnic and racial identities like Chinese, Africans, Arabs and Whites to describe the physical appearance of Indians from different parts of the country.
The veteran Congress leader was an advisor to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and has been closely associated with Rahul Gandhi, accompanying him during his foreign visits.
"These days Rahul Gandhi is roaming around with a copy of the Constitution...the Congress wants to usurp the rights of our Dalit, tribal, and backward brothers by giving reservations on the basis of religion," Nadda said.
Talking about the opposition INDIA bloc, he said, "This 'ghamandia gathbandhan' (arrogant alliance) is an alliance of only two things. The alliance members want to save the corrupt and their families."
The BJP president also said that 10 years ago, this thought had taken root in the minds of ordinary citizens of India that nothing would change now and the rule of goons will continue.
"But after the arrival of Modi ji, everything has changed in Indian politics. In these elections, you are not only making the BJP win, but you have also started moving towards fulfilling the resolution of a 'Viksit Bharat'," he said.
Intensifying his attack on the opposition, Nadda said, "Earlier, nepotism, casteism, corruption, and appeasement were the dominant factors in Indian politics. But in the last 10 years, Modi ji took on the politics of casteism, regionalism and appeasement and pushed forward the politics of development on the basis of 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas'."
Whatever the BJP promised has been done, and whatever was not said has also been done, he added. The BJP chief also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked to strengthen the villages, the poor, the deprived, the youth, farmers and women.
"There was a time when Uttar Pradesh was a 'BIMARU' state. But today, under the leadership of Modi ji and (UP Chief Minister) Yogi Adityanath ji, Uttar Pradesh has become one of the leading states of the country," Nadda said in Chitrakoot.
The acronym 'BIMARU' (sick) was coined by demographer Ashish Bose in the mid-1980s, formed from the first letters of names of some of the poorest states, namely Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Later, while addressing a public meeting in Fatehpur, Nadda said that the Samajwadi Party and the Congress had left UP in a bad condition. Under the rule of PM Modi and CM Adityanath, goondas have fled the state, he said.
"Today Uttar Pradesh is writing a new story of development," he added. Apparently referring to the police firing on karsevaks in Ayodhya in 1990 during the Mulayam Singh Yadav government, Nadda said that at one time in UP, "bullets were fired on the devotees of Ram, but now flowers are showered on them."
The BJP president said that Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav (during his tenure) had applied for remission of sentence of the accused of Lucknow, Varanasi and Gorakhpur bomb blasts. "These people (SP) are supporters of terrorists," he alleged.
Nadda appealed to the voters to contribute to the development of India and Uttar Pradesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi by pressing the 'Lotus' button and making BJP candidates victorious in the Lok Sabha elections.
Chitrakoot district comes under the Banda Lok Sabha constituency where voting will be held on May 20 in the fifth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Polling in Fatehpur is also scheduled on May 20.
