Warning that communal forces could divide society, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said these needed to be defeated in the elections. His remarks could be seen as directed at BJP’s face in the coming Lok Sabha elections and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.
“We have to oppose such communal forces all the time, at all levels, whether it is daily life or elections,” Dr Singh said.
The Prime Minister underlined that “it is the responsibility of all political parties, all sections of the society and duty of all of us to ensure that such efforts are defeated.”
Though Dr Singh did not name anyone in particular, his comments could be seen as directed against Mr Modi, who is being viewed by Congress as a “divisive” figure.
“India is a vast modern nation. Along with several religions, it has several languages and sects. Many times, this diversity is exploited to create a divide among us,” he said at a function organised here to give the away Rajiv Gandhi Sadhbhavna Award to sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.
The award was presented by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister.
“A few days back, there was communal violence in the country. From that we should take lessons that there should never be laxity in the efforts to stop communal forces,” Dr Singh said.
He referred to the recent violence in Kishtwar town of Jammu and Kashmir and said lessons needed to be learnt from that so that there is no laxity in the efforts to stop communal forces.
Dr Singh called for continued efforts to promote communal harmony so that “there is never mistrust for each other and nobody is able to create divide among us. This will be real tribute to Rajiv Gandhi”.
In Ahmedabad, Mr Modi intensified his attack on the UPA government saying its leadership is directionless and only worried about saving their chair while not being concerned about the sliding rupee and the economic crisis that is worrying the nation.
Close on the heels of his lashing out at PM on Independence Day, the Gujarat CM upped the ante, accusing the Centre of not taking adequate remedial steps to address the economic situation and instil confidence in the people, a PTI report said.