Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, on a campaign trail in poll-bound Jharkhand on Tuesday, responded to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s “batenge toh katenge” slogan and dubbed this as the communal agenda of the latter to seek votes.
Congress president, in a fierce counter to “batenge toh katenge” call of Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, said that it was the BJP which was sowing the seeds of division among communities and also then going a step to break the social fabric.
He said that the BJP leaders are giving such divisive calls as part of their agenda and also appealed to the people to break the vicious campaign if they want to change their lives for the better.
“Dalits are denied entry into temple premises and other common places, poor and marginalised classes have to run from pillar to post in getting basic needs addressed,” he said.
“Unless you break this agenda, your lives won’t change, you will be subjected to exploitation for years to come,” he further stated.
Addressing two public rallies, first in the Mandu region of Hazaribagh and then in Kanke of Ranchi district, Kharge slammed the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for pursuing “divisive and destructive” politics.
Kharge, speaking at a huge public meeting Ranchi’s Kanke said that the BJP’s only intention and motive was to gain power.
“They want to rule by making people fight among themselves. But we will not let their agenda succeed at any cost,” the Congress chief declared, eliciting cheers and praise from the crowd.
He also launched an attack on Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over alleged fake promises.
“PM Modi had promised Rs15 lakh in everyone’s account. Have you received it? When a journalist asked Amit Shah, he said that it was an election slogan,” Kharge pointed out.
On the jobs front also, the Congress veteran sought to expose the Modi government.
“They had promised to give two crores every year. According to this, 20 crore people should have got jobs in 10 years, but did you get them?” he asked the gathering.
Responding to the issue of Bangladeshi infiltration, he asked the Centre what it was doing to address the issue.
“The government is in their hands. It is their responsibility to protect the border. Even after this, when they talk about Bangladeshi infiltration, it is nothing but belittling the country’s army men,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, in a scathing attack on the JMM-Congress and RJD coalition government of Jharkhand, Yogi on Tuesday said that the ruling government conspired to change the demography of the state.
“Recently the honourable court of Jharkhand had to express concern on why the population of tribes in Santhal decreased from 42 per cent to 28 per cent. Where did these people go? How did a large population become a part of another community?” the UP CM said while addressing an election rally in Jamshedpur.
Yogi called upon the people of Jharkhand to once again elect a BJP government in the state to honour the spirit with which Atal Bihari Vajpayee had created a separate state in 2000 and to make a developed and safe Jharkhand.
Referring to the strict steps taken to end the mafia and goonda raj in Uttar Pradesh, Yogi said that when the Ayodhya case was in the court, the stone pelters used to say that rivers of blood would flow.
“But today, there is neither curfew nor riot in UP. Naxalism will be eliminated from Jharkhand,” he added.
Yogi appealed to the people of Jharkhand to give a befitting reply to the conspiracy to divide them on the basis of castes.
He said that those who divide people in the name of caste, region and language are the same people who will not stand with them in times of crisis.
The UP CM called Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and RJD as messengers of destruction.
Indo-Asian News Service