Patna: Union minister Giriraj Singh on Monday attacked renowned Muslim scholar Maulana Arshad Madani's demand for a ban on the Bajrang Dal in Congress-ruled Karnataka. Singh was responding to a speech by Madani where the principal of Darul Uloom Deoband had defended Congress party's manifesto "promise" to ban the Bajrang Dal and asserted that it was a step that should have ideally been taken "70 years ago".
The Union minister, known for his controversial statements, reacted by claiming, "all Muslims should have been sent to Pakistan at the time of the Partition itself". Singh's party, BJP, has already voiced its unhappiness with the Congress for equating Bajrang Dal, an offshoot of the RSS, with a "terrorist" organisation like the PFI.
In the manifesto, the Congress, which went on to win a handsome majority, overthrowing BJP from power in Karnataka, had stated that it would not hesitate from taking stern action, including a ban if the need arose, against organisations like Bajrang Dal and PFI which allegedly disturbed communal harmony. Singh also came out against former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti who paid tributes to legendary Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan.
"Tipu Sultan was an invader (aakranta) who had set his foot on Indian soil to loot its riches. In that respect he was like the British. His fight against the British was not a fight for India's freedom but aimed at preserving his own empire," the Union minister claimed. Born in 17th century to Haider Ali, a military general who used his acumen to assume political control of Mysore, Tipu Sultan became a bone of contention between the BJP and its rivals during the recently held Karnataka polls.
The BJP had sought to repudiate the accounts of most of historians that Tipu Sultan had died fighting the British colonialists and insisted that the Mysore ruler was slain by those belonging to the "Vokkaliga" community, which the saffron party had aggressively tried to woo. Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) reacted to Singh's statement, pointing out that the BJP leader's averment ran contrary to his proclaimed ideals.
"Giriraj Singh, like all in the BJP, draws inspiration from the RSS which has always sworn by 'Akhand Bharat' (United India). Now, by advocating that all Muslims be sent to Pakistan, the Union minister seeks to negate the very concept of 'Akhand Bharat'," said JD(U) chief spokesman and MLC Neeraj Kumar. (PTI)
