Andhra Pradesh unit calls comments "incendiary," accuses Congress of stoking communal tension
AMARAVATI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday demanded an unconditional public apology from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over remarks the party described as communally provocative and unbecoming of a senior national leader.
Sheikh Baji, official spokesperson of the Andhra Pradesh unit of the BJP, said Mr. Kharge had drawn an analogy during a recent meeting in which he allegedly likened the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the BJP to a snake obstructing a worshipper mid-namaz — suggesting they be treated accordingly. Mr. Baji said the remarks, which have since circulated widely, amounted to an incitement to violence.
"It is deeply unfortunate that the president of a national political party, who bears a responsibility to uphold the unity and integrity of this country, should resort to language that inflames communal passions."
The BJP spokesperson further alleged that the Congress party had, over successive decades, pursued a deliberate strategy of exploiting caste and religious fault lines for electoral advantage. He accused the party of attempting to divide society along sectarian lines at a time when national cohesion demanded restraint from political leaders of all persuasions.
Mr. Baji demanded that Mr. Kharge retract the remarks without delay and apologise to the people of India. He also called upon the Congress leadership to put in place safeguards to ensure that similar statements were not repeated in future.
The Congress party had not, at the time of filing this report, issued any response to the BJP's demands.
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