Stop cheap politics, join hands with govt in fighting coronavirus: BJP tells Cong

Accusing the Congress of deliberately trying to create divisions in the society, the BJP on Thursday asked the opposition party not to practice "cheap and small politics" but come together with the Union government in fighting the coronavirus outbreak.

The BJP also claimed that Congress president Sonia Gandhi's charge that it was stoking communalism was an attempt to divert people's attention from incidents like lynching of sadhus in Maharashtra and demanded that the opposition party withdraw its allegation and tender an apology.

Senior BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar said the Congress is trying to put obstacles in the government's work for its own "selfish interests" when people are supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in combating the pandemic.

BJP's media head Anil Baluni said such a statement coming from the country's oldest political party "weakens" the fight against the pandemic and also shows the "extreme insensitivity" of the Congress president.

This is not time for politics but to serve the nation, he said, adding that only the Congress can do politics in the time of a crisis.

Javadekar took a swipe at the Congress Working Committee, the apex decision-making body of the opposition party which had met earlier in the day, saying it does no work but abuses those who have been working.

"The Congress is deliberately trying to create divisions in society. These divisions harm society. We condemn these statements," he said, reacting to the attack on the government by Gandhi.

Gandhi accused the BJP of spreading the "virus of communal prejudice and hatred" in the country, saying "grave damage" is being done to social harmony.

Addressing a meeting of the CWC, she said it should worry every Indian, and her party will have to work hard to repair this damage.

Hitting back, Javadekar said the country is fighting COVID-19 but Congress leaders are concerned about their party's "selfish interests" and have been seeking to create divisions in society.

"Our first aim is to fight the coronavirus unitedly. So I will again appeal to the Congress to not practice small politics, cheap politics," he said.

The Congress, he said, deliberately raises issues which have nothing to do with reality.

The BJP leader claimed that the opposition party raises the same issues which those who frequently attack the country do.

Lauding the central government for its initiatives, Baluni said Modi has worked to take everyone along and has held meetings with state chief ministers and leaders of different political parties to prepare a roadmap to deal with the crisis.

The government has also come out with Rs 1.7 lakh crore package to help different sections of society needing help, he said, noting that it had also announced free ration for the poor for three months.

The Modi government has ensured that no poor person goes hungry, he said.

In a statement, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said Gandhi made a very irresponsible charge that the BJP is stoking communalism.

"The Congress should not only withdraw the allegation but for this it should also apologise to people. The Congress is trying to communalise the society by raising these issues," he said.

Hussain also asked if the CWC discussed incidents like lynching of two sadhus in Palghar and "sponsored attack" on a journalist in Mumbai.

Its attack on the BJP is an attempt to divert people's attention from these issues, he said.