New Delhi: Amid the escalating standoff over the unrest at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), the BJP on Tuesday rubbed salt on the Congress’ wounds after party leader Randeep Surjewala unthinkingly suffixed the honorific ‘ji’ to terrorist Afzal Guru’s name, saying the incident highlighted the ‘culture of the grand old party.
“The way Congress is dealing this entire JNU row is despicable. Sometimes they say Osama ji, Afzal Guru ji and sometimes Hafiz ji. Is this the culture of Congress? They need to answer that does their culture include glorifying praising terrorists and showing them as great people because if it is so then their wipe-out is definite.” Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told ANI.
Asserting that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre did not indulge in the practice of doling out certificates of ‘patriotism’, he added that the people need to prove their patriotism and devotion to the nation without being under any duress.
“Voices should not be divided when it comes to defending the nation’s honour and dignity,” Naqvi said.
Addressing a press conference yesterday, Surjewala, while addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as ‘Modi ji’ and BJP president Amit Shah as ‘Amit Shah ji’, also addressed the terrorist as ‘Afzal Guru ji’.
Surjewala, however, withdrew his words later and said that it was a ‘slip-of-tongue’.
“When I held the press conference, I was speaking about the inherent strength of India in giving adequate punishment through due process of law even to terrorists like Afzal Guru or Ajmal Kasab. Out of 20 times, when I spoke the name once, on account of a flow there has been an error or a slip of tongue,” he said. (ANI)