Kolkata, April 01: The BJP on Wednesday denied allegations of being anti-Islam, saying it was against organisations like al Qaeda, ISI and Lashkar-e-Toiba which carry out terrorism in the name of religion.
“The BJP is sometimes accused of being anti-Islam. I say, if it were so, why did Atal Bihari Vajpayee suggest the name of APJ Abdul Kalam for the post of President?” BJP president Nitin Gadkari told a citizen’s convention.
Charging the Congress with being unable to contain terrorism, he said, “It cannot fight terrorism as long as it remains at the Centre. Terrorists will come and go… and people will end up organising candlelight vigils.”
Taking a dig at secular parties without naming any, he said, “At one time, secularism meant appeasement of minorities. Now it means appeasement of terrorists with an eye on the vote bank.”
Describing the Congress as a “private limited company of Rahul and Sonia Gandhi”, he claimed any party member who was critical of them was blacklisted.
He said Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan did not share the dais with Amitabh Bachchan as Congress president Sonia Gandhi was annoyed at the mega star’s presence at the inauguration of the second phase of Mumbai Sea Link.
-PTI