Rahul talking like pot calling kettle black: Venkaiah

Reacting to Saturday’s remarks of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi against the BJP and Sangh Parivar, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu here on Sunday said the former’s jibe was like the “pot calling the kettle black”.

In a statement here, the Union minister said it was the Congress that preached and practiced divisive politics in the country in the last 50 years and encouraged fundamentalist forces, thrived on caste, region and religion. The Congress also had given credibility to the Muslim League, which was responsible for the partition of the sub-continent by inducting them into its Ministry. He also alleged that the Congress aligned with communal forces like All India Majlis-e- Ittehad-ul Muslimeen and other communal splinter groups in various parts of the country. “It also encouraged forces of separatism and divisiveness at times for the sake of temporary political gains. It also propped up Bhindranwale by calling him a great saint and later sent Army to the Golden Temple to take on him.

Venkaiah Naidu said the Congress encouraged LTTE and gave arms and training resulting in the loss of over 1000 precious lives of Indian Jawans by sending them to Sri Lanka in the name of Peace Keeping Force. The Congress was also responsible for genocide Sikhs in 1984 in Delhi. It was the appeasement politics of Congress that has widened the divide between the majority and minority communities complicated the Kashmir issue.

“Our government came to power only two years back and our Prime Minister has brought in social security and we are trying to bring social harmony, we are focusing on oneness in nation”, he said. (NSS)