Congress indulging in imaginary politics of hatred: BJP

BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli today said the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi were indulging in an "imaginary politics of hatred", adding that it would not work as the people of the country were smarter.

"They (Congress and Gandhi) are trying to create an imaginary politics of hatred in India. The country will not be fooled. India's citizens and voters are smarter," he told a press conference here.

Taking a dig at Congress leaders, Kohli said they were playing politics over their own non-performance in terms of attendance and discussions in Parliament.

"They are trying to cover up their inability to develop their own constituencies," he said, while citing Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh as a "classic example" of this.

"It almost seems that Rahul Gandhi's tweets celebrate negative news. Even if a one-sided, factually incorrect report is published anywhere in the world, Gandhi and his colleagues jump on it and paint it as the picture of India," Kohli alleged.

While the BJP was engaged in the politics of performance, the Congress was indulging in the politics of running down and criticising the development of the country, he added.

"On one side is the ideology of performance and on the other side is the ideology of power for the sake of power," the BJP leader said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was working for the development of all Indians since his first day in office.

Asked about the BJP's coalition partners for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Kohli said it was too early to discuss these issues.

"The NDA is real and the mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) is illusionary, it is not real. So, if people ask about the mahagathbandhan, then let it first form, if it is to be formed. Whether it will be formed, who will be its leader...

"Opposing Modiji cannot be an agenda for alternative or an agenda for governance. If they wish to compete, let them compete on politics of performance," he added.