Farmers Movement Archive

SP irked over ‘abba jaan’ jibe as it does politics of appeasement, says Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh on Wednesday said that if speaking about Ram Mandir, calling oneself Hindu, doing away with article 370 and demanding implementation of uniform civil code was communalism, then his party was indeed communal. He was responding to allegations that the BJP deliberately stoked religious issues and targeted a particular community for political gains. Speaking at Navbharat Navnirman Manch- Uttar Pradesh organised by Times Now Navbharat, Singh also reacted to chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s recent ‘Abba Jaan’ jibe, saying that the word otherwise signified “respect” but SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is getting irritated by it because his party does the politics of Muslim appeasement. He reiterated that the former CM Mulayam Singh Yadav ordered firing on Karsewaks for the sake of Muslim appeasement. Stressing that the BJP government did not differentiate between the Hindus and Muslims while giving facilities and making schemes, Singh said that both the community need to come together in taking the state and the country forward. “Today people call themselves ‘Hindustani’ with pride. Even after the Supreme Court gave its nod for Ram Temple in Ayodhya not a single riot took place,” he said, maintaining that even Muslims would not support the Samajwadi Party wholeheartedly in the forthcoming UP assembly elections. “While BSP is stronger than the SP, there is no key political opponent before the BJP,” he said. Singh said that his party was led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and CM Yogi in UP, who believe in working hard and also making sacrifices for the nation’s sake.“There was no room for nepotism, casteism and regionalism which largely prevails in the SP and the BSP,” he emphasised. Singh claimed that SP and BSP have never come to power on the basis of popularity. “They have just been alternating with each other as people did not have options. Now, they have one,” he said, claiming that not a single person in the state was against PM Modi and CM Yogi as the image of both leaders remains unblemished. On the issue of farmers’ organising a ‘Mahapanchayat’ against the three farm laws, the UP BJP chief said that farmers supported the BJP which got indicated in the recently held panchayat elections where a large number of BJP-backed candidates won. He said that the farmers’ stir was supported and funded by the Congress and other political parties to defame the BJP. Side stepping the query that whether Ram Mandir will be an election issue, Singh said that it was Lord Ram who decided that the foundation stone of his temple will be laid by PM Modi. Drawing a parallel with Ramayan, Singh said that PM Modi and CM Yogi followed the ‘Dharma Shashtra’ and ensured that none of their kin received any kind of privilege despite their tall status.

The Times of India

2021-09-16

Lucknow