BJP has always divided the country: Manmohan

April 12, 2014 06:40 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 11:25 pm IST - Pilibhit

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh holds a sword during an election rally at Puranpur in Pilibhit on Saturday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh holds a sword during an election rally at Puranpur in Pilibhit on Saturday.

Hitting the campaign trail in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday made a scathing attack on BJP by describing its ideology as against the composite culture of the state and said the party had always “divided the country.”

“BJP leaders want to give a turn to the Lok Sabha elections on communal issues, but we all need to give more emphasis on national issues. This time the big national issue is whether the country should have a government led by a party which has always divided the country,” Dr. Singh said while addressing an election rally in favour of his party candidate here, sitting MLA Sanjay Kapoor.

Referring to the controversial statement by BJP leader Amit Shah asking voters to avenge Muzaffarnagar riots, the Prime Minister said, “You have heard the speech of one of the BJP leaders. The question before you today is whether you will tolerate it and till when. UP is known for its mixed culture and there is a tradition of respecting each others religion, and I want to tell you that BJP’s ideology and works are against this ‘ ganga-jamuni tehzib ’ (composite culture)”.

“Uttar Pradesh has always been politically important, and this time also the Lok Sabha results in the state would decide who would form the government at the Centre,” Dr. Singh said.

Attacking BJP over the delay in the issue of its manifesto, Dr. Singh said, “BJP released its manifesto on the day when polling had already started in some states. This proves that they are not serious about putting up their policies before the people.

“BJP’s campaigning is centralised on one person. He is making promises which he will never be able to fulfil. Despite the passage of so many years, BJP’s manifesto has the same issues of Ram Temple and Article 370.” Dr. Singh said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.