Defence Minister Rajnath Singh slams Congress over 'appeasement' politics

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has launched a scathing attack against the Congress’ “Muslim appeasement politics”.

Speaking at an “intellectual meet” in Visakhapatnam, the Defence Minister went at length, talking about how the Congress in an attempt to gain Muslim votes is promising things to the community that are divisive in nature and detrimental to the nation's unity and integrity.

To buttress his views, Rajnath Singh said the Rangnath Mishra Commission and the Sachar Commission were established by the erstwhile Congress-led UPA government only to appease a particular community on the pretext of minority welfare.

The Defence Minister also said that he considers then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement as unconstitutional in which he had stated that the minority community, especially the Muslims, has the first claim to the nation’s resources.

He also said it was the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh that created its first laboratory of 'communal agenda' and gave the Muslim community reservation in government jobs on the basis of religion, flouting the Constitution.

In Andhra Pradesh, an attempt was made to give reservations to the Muslims by reducing the reservations given to the SC/ST and OBCs, and a dirty game was played due to vote bank politics, Rajnath Singh remarked.

But the Andhra Pradesh High Court put a stay on this decision, said the Defence Minister, adding, “Despite that, between 2004 and 2010, the Congress tried to implement 'Muslim reservation' in Andhra Pradesh four times. But due to legal aspects and the Supreme Court’s intervention, it could not fulfill his plans.”

Rajnath Singh also said that the Congress has again included in its election manifesto the idea of 'Muslim reservation'.

“After our Prime Minister exposed this trickery of the Congress, the party is attacking him,” the Defence Minister said.

The Congress says that the Prime Minister is lying whereas the truth is that the Congress is hoodwinking the people of this country, he alleged.

According to Rajnath Singh, Congress’ promises in the manifesto will create new divisions in the country.

When Sections 3 and 6 of the Minorities Chapter of the Congress manifesto are read together, it becomes clear what the party is trying to do, he said.

Rajnath Singh also said that it has been written in Section 3 that “we will encourage and assist students and youth belonging to the minorities to take full advantage of the growing opportunities in education, employment, business, services, sports, arts and other fields".

In Section 6, it is written that "we will ensure that the minorities receive their fair share of opportunities in education, healthcare, public employment, public works contracts, skill development, sports, and cultural activities without discrimination", Rajnath Singh said.

On one hand, the Congress will promote the youth of minorities so that their role increases in education, employment, business, services, sports, arts, and other fields, while on the other hand, it will ensure that they get their share, Rajnath Singh said, adding that this is in fact done by making a legal provision, which is being expressed through the word ‘ensure’.

This means now the Congress is preparing to bring 'religion-based reservation' through the backdoor, he alleged.

“My concern is even bigger because whatever Congress has said in its manifesto in the name of 'minority welfare' is influenced by the 'Sachar Committee' report,” he said.

When the Sachar Committee, formed during the Congress government, had given its report in 2006, it had also suggested conducting a census based on religion in the Indian Army, Rajnath Singh said.

For the first time in the history of Independent India, an attempt was made to divide the military forces on religious lines, he pointed out.

"At that time, the BJP was in the opposition and we had opposed the Sachar Committee report with full force," he said.

"This is the real face of the Congress, it wants to create division in every institution, every system of this country, but the BJP has always opposed it staunchly," he said.

This Congress manifesto has indicated reservation for religious minorities in government jobs, which if implemented, can also include the armed forces under its ambit, the Defence Minister said at the meeting.

He said that this is an idea that affects the unity and integrity of the country, and would lead to a terrible situation.

The Congress, which divides the country in the name of religion, has been doing appeasement politics that divides the society since the first day after Independence, the Defence Minister said, adding that appeasement and vote bank politics are in the DNA of the Congress.

He added: “Whenever I get an opportunity to visit Andhra Pradesh, I am attracted by its vibrant culture and tremendous potential. When Andhra Pradesh was divided in 2013, there were many outstanding issues whose solution was not given by the Congress.

"If you compare with the NDA government, Atal Bihari Vajpayee created not one but three new states and everything happened so smoothly that all the issues were resolved very easily. We have the example of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Jharkhand," he said.

When national and state issues come up before the Congress, it is neither able to do “any addition, nor multiplication, nor is it able to do division properly”, the senior politician said.

But when the question of dividing the country and society comes before the Congress, it seems to be an expert, Rajnath Singh charged.

The Visakhapatnam Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) that is being built in Andhra Pradesh is going to prove to be the economic backbone of the state, he asserted.

This approximately 465 km long VCIC corridor is a key component of the East West Economic Corridor, which will bring investments worth $100 billion to India which will result in the creation of about one million jobs, he said.

Rajnath Singh also alleged that due to the laxity of the state government, the expected work in this project has not been done yet.