India does not belong to any particular religion, caste or language: Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari Friday said this country does not belong to any particular religion, caste, or language.

Addressing a gathering during the distribution of ownership pattas to slum dwellers he said the party had never done politics based on caste or religion and theirs was a politics of service and development.

He said India was of every person who loved it, be it a Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Jain, Christians or others.

"We have never done politics based on caste or religion... We never did politics on caste, religion and language. But, we did politics of service and development of poor," he said.

"Because a poor man is poor, be it a Muslim, Jain, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Dalit or a tribal," he said.

He further said that there cannot be partiality in the work of development.

"We know that those who cannot compete with us on the development front, try to scare people with poison of casteism and communalism," he said.

He said it was said that if Gadkari gets elected then "you will be sent to Pakistan" and questioned, "What did I do, whom did I scare and whom was I unjust to".

He said the party will work for people whether or not they vote for it.

"This country does not belong to any particular religion, caste, or language. This country is of every person who loves it, be it a Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Jain, Christian and others," said Gadkari.