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Senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s question on Ram Mandir has irked the Bharatiya Janata Party as they have accused the Congress leader and his party of practicing ‘appeasement politics’.
Reacting to Pitroda’s comments, where he said, Ram Mandir wasn’t the real issue plaguing the country, BJP MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar said Pitroda’s remarks reflect the mindset of the Congress and Rahul Gandhi.
“Sam Pitroda is the prime example of how far removed Rahul’s Congress is from the psyche of India. During UPA, Sam was a very powerful man and he was leading the prime minister’s innovation council… the 2G scam happened then, and he was silent about that. On inflation and other economic issues, he had said ‘what if there is some inflation’,” Hindustan Times quoted Chandrashekhar as saying.
ALSO READ: Ram Mandir is BJP’s ‘show-off’, says Kapil Sibal: Saffron party’s behaviour ‘nowhere close to Ram’s’
“This is Sam Pitroda who is the mentor of Rahul Gandhi. A lot of it represents the thinking of Rahul Gandhi that Hindutva doesn’t matter. Terrorism doesn’t matter because of appeasement. Inflation and corruption doesn’t matter because of crony capitalism. Hindu faith doesn’t matter because of their appeasement politics,” he added.
According to details, the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is scheduled to take place on 22 January, and several BJP stalwarts including Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the event.
The Supreme Court in 2019, allowed the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. It also directed the authorities to provide separate land for a mosque.
What did Pitroda say?
While speaking to the news agency ANI, Pitoda said that the BJP should keep religion separate from politics.
“I have no problem with any religion. It is okay to go visit the temple once in a while, but you can’t make that the main platform. 40 percent of the people vote for BJP, and 60 percent of the people do not vote for BJP. He is everybody’s Prime Minister and not a party’s Prime Minister and that’s the message the people of India want him to have. Talk about employment, inflation, science and technology, and challenges. They (pe, people) have to decide what are the real issues- is Ram Mandir the real issue? Or unemployment is a real issue. Is Ram Mandir the real issue or Inflation is a real issue?” he told ANI.
“Practice your religion but keep religion separate from politics,” he added.
Pitoda on EVM:
Speaking on EVM, Pitoda urged the Congress and the INDIA bloc members to take the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) ‘seriously’, citing that the 2024 Lok Sabha election will decide the ‘destiny of the nation’.
“I would request my party and the alliance members to take this matter very seriously. It is not a simple issue. Don’t overlook it because the 2024 election will decide the destiny of the nation. It will decide the path that India going to take in the future. I see that democracy is undermined today. A PM of a country does not hold a press conference for 10 years, that bothers me. Prime Minister giving more time in the temple, that bothers me,” he added.
On PM’s face:
on the PM face of the INDIA bloc, the senior Congress leader said that the election should be fought on an idea, not on any face or personality.
“The election should be fought on an idea. Who will safeguard the Constitution? Who will enhance your democracy? Who will provide jobs, care for your health, and infrastructure? This is not a presidential election. It is a Parliamentary election. So you don’t have to have a face but have an idea. The idea is we want democracy, we want inclusion, diversity. These are the issues. It’s not Modi vs somebody. INDIA alliance has many qualified people. Some are visible, some are not,” Pitroda said.
With agency inputs.
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Published: 27 Dec 2023, 05:27 PM IST
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