Union Minister and BJP leader Anurag Thakur on Wednesday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was “sowing the seeds of hatred”, when asked to respond to Mr. Gandhi’s allegation that the government was demolishing constitutional values and targeting the poor.
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After the North Delhi Municipal Corporation started demolitions in Jahangirpuri, the site of recent communal clashes, Mr. Gandhi tweeted: “This is a demolition of India’s constitutional values. This is state-sponsored targeting of poor & minorities. BJP must bulldoze the hatred in their hearts instead. (sic).”
Asked to comment on Mr. Gandhi’s statement at a press conference at the BJP headquarters, Mr. Thakur said, “Those whose own history is tied to corruption and riots, you can imagine them making such statements. Those sowing the seeds of hatred, they are not doing what’s good for the country, they are spoiling the image of the country.”
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In response to the Aam Aadmi Party’s allegation that the BJP was a party of goons, Mr. Thakur stated: “What they say and what they do in itself raises a question about them. For politics, they went to a terrorists house. What is more unfortunate than that?”.
AKAM programme
Earlier in the press conference, Mr. Thakur spoke about the government’s efforts to mark the 75th year of Independence with the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) programme. He noted that so far 25,000 events had been organised under AKAM.
The press conference was the last of the daily press conferences under the BJP’s social justice fortnight, where various Ministers highlighted different aspects of the government’s policies so far.