Hyderabad: Terming the ensuing Gujarat Assembly elections as a fight between
nationalist forces and pseudo-secularists, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
president M Venkaiah Naidu on December 7 said the poll outcome would decide the
future course and direction of the country's politics.
"This election is very important because it will decide who will get strengthened –
nationalist forces or bogus secularists," Naidu said.
Asked about fears that 'Modi brand of politics' would spread to other states in the
event of BJP returning to power in Gujarat, he quipped, "Sardar Patel aur Narendra
Modi jaisa approach hona chahiye".
The BJP chief did not agree with a suggestion that his party's victory in Gujarat
could trigger communal clashes in other parts of the country and cited instances of
communal violence in Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Rajastan and Maharashtra.
Asserting that BJP was all set to get an absolute majority in the December 12
Assembly polls, Naidu, who was in Hyderabad after completing two rounds of election
campaign in Gujarat, accused Congress of playing "bogus secularism card to the hilt"
despite being on a "very weak wicket" on all issues including security and
development.
While BJP was emphasising the need to strengthen nationalism and social harmony, the
opposition party was pursuing bogus secularism to garner votes, he said.
Seeking to project contrasting moods in the main political camps in Gujarat, Naidu
said the mood in BJP was upbeat while Congress was being "diffident, nervous and
defensive".
"While BJP is marching ahead under the leadership of Narendra Modi, Congress has no
original leader to its credit. It had to seek refuge in Shankarsingh Vaghela against
whom it had filed a chargesheet in the past," he said.
Taking serious objection to an advertisement released to Gujarati media recently by
All India Muslim Ulema appealing to Muslims to vote for Congress, the BJP president
said the campaign advertisement was issued at the "behest of Congress".
Asked whether his party would file a complaint before the Election Commission, he
said "We will take the matter to the people's commission."
Declining to be dragged into a debate over conflicting opinion polls in the media,
Naidu said his party was confident of returning to power with absolute majority,
irrespective of the projections in pre-poll surveys.
Seeking to "expose the double-speak" of Congress, Naidu said, "The Opposition party
had included Godhra issue in its poll manifesto even while criticising BJP for
raking up communal passions over the train massacre."
Reacting sharply to the Congress' charge that his party was creating fear psychosis,
he asked, "Who was in power when 20,000 people were killed in Jammu and Kashmir,
10,000 people in Assam and another 20,000 in Punjab? Modi was not the Chief Minister
then."
PTI
