BJP: Insulting Hindu gods hallmark of Opp’s agenda

Targets DMK leader Raja over Lord Ram remarks

New Delhi, March 5: The BJP on Tuesday lashed out at the Opposition parties’ INDIA bloc over reported remarks of DMK leader A. Raja against Hinduism and Lord Ram and said insulting India’s ethos publicly and humiliating Hindu gods has become the hallmark of their political agenda.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, senior party leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad noted that DMK MP Raja in his latest speech in Tamil has said “India is not a nation. Understand this well. India is never a nation. One nation means one language, one tradition, one culture. Then, only it is a nation. India is not a nation but a sub-continent”.

“This is Maoist ideology,” Mr Prasad charged, reacting sharply to the DMK leader’s reported remarks. Mr Prasad further quoted Mr Raja who said in his speech “If this is your Jai Shri Ram, if this is your Bharat Mata ki jai, we will never accept that Jai Shri Ram and Bharat Mata. Tamil don’t accept. You go and tell (that) we are enemies of Ram”.

The BJP leader demanded the Congress and other INDIA bloc constituents to come out and say if they agree with the DMK leader’s remarks.

“We vehemently condemn such remarks? The DMK should not assume they can escape scrutiny for such statements. Listen Raja saheb, this time election results in Tamil Nadu will be very surprising,” Mr Prasad said.

“Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka (Gandhi Vadra), Mallikarjun Kharge, do you consider it (Raja’s remarks) right?” he asked.

Mr Prasad said “India that is Bharat”, written in the Constitution, embodies constitutional unity, including the names of all Indian states and languages with special status. “The nation’s soul resides in its unity in diversity,” he said.

Defaming India’s identity and insulting Indian faith has become a habit and political agenda of INDIA “gathbandhan”, he charged.

India is not a nation. Understand this well. India is never a nation. One nation means one language, one tradition, one culture. Then, only it is a nation. India is not a nation but a sub-continent. — A. Raja, DMK leader