Former Union Defence Minister AK Antony said that Congress should bring "majority and minority together if it wants to defeat BJP and oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power", adding that minorities are “not enough in this fight.
He was speaking at the Congress foundation day function earlier this week in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram. Several BJP leaders have reacted to the remark. BJP IT Cell head Ami Malviya remarked that his comment "explains Rahul Gandhi’s temple-hopping…"
Taking to Twitter, Malviya posted the video and wrote, "For the Congress, Indians are not Indians. They are divided in majority and minority, Hindu and Muslims. Here UPA era RM A K Antony says, Congress needs the support of Hindus to bring down Modi Govt, support of minorities not enough. That explains Rahul Gandhi’s temple hopping…"
It should be noted that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been visiting prominent temples on the route of his ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Kerala state president K Surendran said, "Antony's statement is utter hypocrisy. He is running a false campaign ahead of the elections. There is no party in India that has harmed the majority community like this. No other party in India has undertaken an anti-majority approach and promoted minority communalism like Congress. When the majority of believers demanded that the Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh), Congress took a stand against it. Congress also gave an affidavit in the Supreme Court that there is no Ram Setu." K Surendran further alleged that the former Defence Minister took a stand against Hindus and the majority community.
"Antony was the Defence Minister when the Congress said saffron terrorism was the country's biggest threat. Antony is a person who took a stand against Hindus and the majority community whenever he got the chance to rule at the Centre and the State. The Congress and Antony are flatters the communalism of the minority by pretending to love the majority. People will not believe such a hypocritical campaign in the run-up to the election," Kerala BJP president said adding that it is high time for Congress to do a "proper review".
"It is time for Congress to do a proper review. Congress is running on its last lap, playing politics with communal forces and militant outfits. The end of Congress is near. Antony said this because of that realization," he added.
BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said that proves that Congress does theatrics to get support of Hindus and after getting Hindu votes, Hindus turn into Taliban, Pakistan... terrorists for Congress.
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