Why is PM silent on communal violence, incidents of hatred: Congress

Hitting back at BJP president J P Nadda over his attack on opposition parties, the Congress on Monday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence over the recent communal violence in some parts of the country and asked why he has not yet denounced the incidents of hatred.

Congress general secretary and party chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also asked why "perpetrators of hate were getting political patronage".

Accusing the BJP of launching a vicious attack on the Constitution and its ethos, and the institutions built to safeguard democracy, he said that it and its government are at war with its own people.

Surjewala's attack came after Nadda, in an open letter to Indians, accused the opposition of waging a "direct onslaught on the spirit of our nation and casting aspersions on our hardworking citizens".

The letter was in response to leaders of rival parties issuing a joint statement attacking the government over incidents of hate speech and communal violence in the country.

Nadda said the opposition parties "tried, tested, or I should say dusted and rusted approach of vote bank politics, divisive politics, and selective politics is no longer working".

Unfortunately, this thrust towards development politics is being bitterly resisted by the rejected and dejected parties which are once again taking refuge in vote bank and divisive politics, the BJP chief said in his letter.

Responding to the open letter, Surjewala accused the BJP government of systematically weakening the Indian Constitution.

"Your party and government continue to feed the masses the opium of communal polarisation by inciting violence and hatred. You actually do so to distract people away from the main issues that threaten their existence - price rise, unemployment and a shattered hope for the future," he said attacking Nadda.

"While parts of India are ravaged by riots and violence why is the prime minister so conspicuously silent? Why does he not denounce hatred no matter where it comes from? Why do perpetrators of hate get political patronage? Why are those who incite violence rewarded and most of all why are youth being incentivised to attack and abuse," he asked in a statement.

Accusing the BJP of "distorting the nation's fabric, he said, "Your attempts to perpetuate hate, stoke communal tension and divide are dangerous for our nation and our people."

Surjewala claimed that the "lies" of the BJP chief stood exposed as its quest to seek revenge against India's glorious history and hard fought freedom by "half truths and post truths" cannot be the bedrock of a nation aspiring to lead in the 21st century.

"The last eight years will be marked in India's history for a vicious attack against the Constitution, its ethos and every institution built to safeguard our democracy. The BJP and its government have been and are at war with its own people, be it the youth, the women, the poor, the scheduled tribes, the scheduled castes, backwards and the minorities," he said.

Noting that there has been an "abysmal decline in core indices" under the eight years of the Modi government, the Congress leader claimed that there is growing income inequality in the country with the income of 84 per cent Indians declining.

He said there has been a 53 per cent drop in income for the 15 crore poorest households and in contrast, the wealth of the 100 richest Indians has surged from Rs 23 lakh crore to Rs 57 lakh crore in two years.

Surjewala also attacked Nadda over the issue of rising inflation and said Wholesale Inflation (WPI) is raging at over 14.5 per cent and prices of daily items are breaking the back of the people.

The Modi government has "robbed"people of Rs 26 lakh crore through fuel taxes, he alleged.

Alleging that there are over 8.7 lakh vacancies in the central government alone and over 30 lakh in states and the centre combined, he said, "Your government is turning India's demographic dividend into a disaster. And, it is these unemployed youths who are being drawn into violence and hate by the lunatic fringe elements."

Surjewala also accused the BJP government of "cheating" farmers, saying Prime Minister Modi had promised to double their income by 2022 but their production cost only got doubled and the average income of farmers got reduced to a paltry Rs 27 per day.

The Congress leader also attacked Nadda over the silence of the prime minister on the border issue with China and said he refused to even name China while addressing the opposition.

He also attacked the BJP government of "compromising" national security and claimed there has been a rise in terrorist attacks in the country, including in Jammu and Kashmir, under its rule.

Alleging that the BJP had an "anti-Dalit mindset", the Congress leader said of the 17 BJP chief ministers not one was a Dalit and accused it of having reduced the budget for Dalits as the percentage of targeted schemes for scheduled castes out of the total central schemes and centrally-sponsored schemes was just 4.4 per cent.

"Why has your government not released the OBC report, which would benefit them? Why are minorities under constant attack," he asked.

"Your hollow, empty promises and blatant lies continue to haunt our people. The country awaits Rs 15 lakh in every Indian's bank account, 16 crore jobs over the last eight years with two crore annual jobs, doubling farmer incomes by 2022 and MSP at cost +50 per cent, 100 smart cities by 2022 and a house for everyone by 2022," he said.