Modi not prime ministerial in poll campaign, says Jairam Ramesh
The 64-year-old former minister said there were two types of communal polarisation the BJP was indulging in across the country.
New Delhi: The BJP is practicing a frightening level of communal polarisation in election-bound states and this is a huge challenge for the Congress, its strategist and former minister Jairam Ramesh has said.
In an exclusive interview to PTI, parallel to the Ram Temple buildup in Ayodhya Sunday, Ramesh said for every Amit Shah, the BJP chief, there are 10 Amit Shahs of the RSS practicing covert polarisation.
He said the modern name of “tanashaahi” was Amit Shah and that Narendra Modi was “not prime ministerial” in his election campaign as he indulged in “falsification of history and abuse of political rivals”. He said Mr Modi should not demand respect but should command respect of people as Prime Minister.
The senior Congress leader also noted that “false news” was the biggest enterprise in “Make in India” under the Modi government, as he accused the BJP of “manufacturing” issues out of non-issues.
“There is a high degree of communal polarisation that the BJP is doing in every election and in these states,” he told PTI.
The BJP and Prime Minister Modi have instead accused the Congress of diving the society by indulging in caste and religious politics and appeasement of minorities.
Attributing even the “staggering” UP mandate of the BJP to communal polarization, Mr Ramesh said, “The only explanation I have for the UP win of the BJP is the frightening level of communal polarisation which incidentally they have been trying to do in these states also. They are doing this in Chhattisgarh and certainly in MP and Rajasthan.”
The 64-year-old former minister said there were two types of communal polarisation the BJP was indulging in across the country.
“One is overt polarisation, which is the language used by Mr Amit Shah and PM Narendra Modi. Then there is covert polarisation done by the RSS and its people through the word of mouth and house to house,” Mr Ramesh said.
“Mr Amit Shah is a good example of a person who preaches and practices the politics of overt polarisation” and that “for every Amit Shah there are 10 “Amit Shahs” of the RSS who are practicing and preaching covert polarisation. That is what happened in UP,” he noted.