BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday said the priority of the Congress and the INDIA bloc is to promote the interest of families without having any genuine concern for Dalits and weaker sections of the society.
He also said the Congress party, which ruled India for a long period after Independence, considered Dalits as “instruments for getting votes” and had no genuine concern for them and the downtrodden.
Mr Nadda, who was speaking at ‘Anushoochit Jaati Maha Sammelan’ in Agra, was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
“Congress was in power for a long time in the country since Independence. They didn’t see our Scheduled Caste (SC) brothers from a humanitarian point of view. They always saw them as an instrument to garner votes,” said Mr Nadda.
He hailed his government’s decision to remove Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and said by doing away with the constitutional provision, the people of the SC community in the Union Territory (UT) will derive benefits of reservation, get government jobs and will also get elected to seats reserved for them after delimitation.
Mr Nadda also hit out at the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc and alleged that it aims to save the parties of families from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign against corruption.
“This Congress party and INDI alliance are there to save families from the campaign of Modi against corruption. They are either on bail or in jail,” said Mr Nadda.
The BJP chief took names of several political parties right from Jammu and Kashmir to Tamil Nadu and said they are parties of families.
He asked, “Tell me whether Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah’s National Conference is a party of family or not, and Mufti Mohhamad and Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP is a party of family or not? In Punjab, (late) Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal’s SAD is a party of family or not?
“In Haryana, Chautala family’s party is a party of family or not? In Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh, Dimple and (late) Mulayam (Singh Yadav)’s SP is a party of family or not? In Bihar, Lalu, Rabri, Misa, Tejashwi and Tej Pratap’s RJD is a party of the family or not?” he said.
Mr Nadda asked whether in Bengal, “bua-bhatija” Abhishek Banerjee and Mamata Banerjee’s TMC is a party of family or not. In Telangana, whether KCR, KTR and Kavitha’s BRS is a party of family or not, he said.
“In Tamil Nadu, (late) Karunanidhi, Stalin and Udhayanidhi Stalin’s DMK a party of family or not? In Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule’s NCP (Sharad faction) a party of family or not?” he questioned.
Nadda further asked whether Uddhav Thackeray and Aditya Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (Uddhav) is a party of family or not. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Sonia Gandhi’s party is a party of family or not, he asked.
“Tell me if Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are out on bail or not. If there is a case against Akhilesh in the Riverfront case or not, against Lalu Yadav in the fodder scam case or not and if the ministers of Mamata Banerjee are corrupt or not?” he asked.
Earlier, in his address, Mr Nadda said the BJP, which is an ideological party, believes that the country will not develop till those on the margins of the society are benefitted.
“We had said the country cannot move forward till the ‘vanchit, peedit, soshit and Dalit’ (deprived, exploited, aggrieved and Scheduled Castes), who are seen as tools for vote bank politics by the INDIA bloc, are developed and made equals. This is why not Congress, but BJP undertook Antyodaya mission to benefit those on the margins of society,” said Nadda.
He charged that Congress’s slogans have always been divisive. But the BJP and the Bhartiya Jan Sangh have always tried to unite everyone. “This is why we said ‘Sabka sath, sabha vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayas’,” said Mr Nadda.
He alleged that the architect of the Indian Constitution, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, was ignored and sidelined by the Congress. “This is the character and history of Congress, which objected to Babasaheb Ambedkar’s appointment to the constituent assembly. It is written in history that Congress had defeated Bhimrao Ambedkar in North Mumbai. So he had to go to Bengal and get elected from there.”
Mr Nadda further said it is written in history that during the Congress regime, there was no place to put up the picture of Ambedkar in Lok Sabha. Even after his death, he was not given Bharat Ratna.
He alleged that Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi gave Bharat Ratna to themselves but did not give Bharat Ratna to Ambedkar. He was given Bharat Ratna when Janata Dal formed the government and it had the support of the BJP, said Mr Nadda.
“I am telling all this before you so that you should remember that the Dalit brothers, who have always been misled by the Congress party, should know that no one cares for them. If someone has cared for them. It is only Narendra Modi who cares for them,” said Nadda, and pointed to naming the airport in Ayodhya after Maharishi Valmiki.
