NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi meditates for a second day at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari, Indian National Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said politics and religion should never be mixed and if one believes in God, it should be done at home.
“Politics and religion should never be mixed. The two should be kept separate. A person of one religion can be your friend and a person of another religion can be your enemy. It is wrong to link religious sentiments with elections. He has gone to Kanniyakumari to perform a drama. How much money is the country wasting by hiring so many policemen? Your show-off by going there will only harm the country. If you believe in God, do so in your own home,” Kharge said.
PM Modi is in Kanniyakumari on a religious visit. He is meditating at Dhyan Mandapam, the place where revered Hindu philosopher Swami Vivekananda is believed to have had a divine vision of ‘Bharat Mata’. He will continue meditating till June 1.
The BJP leader further said that while the party will win seats in Andhra Pradesh, it will have an advantage in Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
“No matter what he (PM Modi) says, the people have decided not to accept his leadership. Inflation and unemployment played a role in this election. Issues of constitution and democracy are also on the minds of the people. In Andhra they (BJP) will win some (seats), but in Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra the Congress has an advantage. In Uttar Pradesh too, they will gain more seats thanks to the coalition. I think a coalition government will be formed,” Mallikarjun Kharge said.
“Many people understand how they (BJP) are trying to abolish reservation. If their intentions were good, 3 lakh vacant seats in the Central government would have been filled and more than half of them would have been given to the poor, Dalits and backward sections. By the time there is untouchability in the country and they (reserved category people) do not get equal rights, reservation will be there,” he added.
Modi came under fire from the Indian National Congress for saying the world got to know Mahatma Gandhi after the 1982 film “Gandhi.”
To this, Kharge said, “If people from Gujarat don’t know about Mahatma Gandhi, what can we say? Why are you not promoting the person we consider the Father of the Nation? He is also from Gujarat. We respect him but you have chosen Godse.”
“Politics and religion should never be mixed. The two should be kept separate. A person of one religion can be your friend and a person of another religion can be your enemy. It is wrong to link religious sentiments with elections. He has gone to Kanniyakumari to perform a drama. How much money is the country wasting by hiring so many policemen? Your show-off by going there will only harm the country. If you believe in God, do so in your own home,” Kharge said.
PM Modi is in Kanniyakumari on a religious visit. He is meditating at Dhyan Mandapam, the place where revered Hindu philosopher Swami Vivekananda is believed to have had a divine vision of ‘Bharat Mata’. He will continue meditating till June 1.
The BJP leader further said that while the party will win seats in Andhra Pradesh, it will have an advantage in Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
“No matter what he (PM Modi) says, the people have decided not to accept his leadership. Inflation and unemployment played a role in this election. Issues of constitution and democracy are also on the minds of the people. In Andhra they (BJP) will win some (seats), but in Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra the Congress has an advantage. In Uttar Pradesh too, they will gain more seats thanks to the coalition. I think a coalition government will be formed,” Mallikarjun Kharge said.
“Many people understand how they (BJP) are trying to abolish reservation. If their intentions were good, 3 lakh vacant seats in the Central government would have been filled and more than half of them would have been given to the poor, Dalits and backward sections. By the time there is untouchability in the country and they (reserved category people) do not get equal rights, reservation will be there,” he added.
Modi came under fire from the Indian National Congress for saying the world got to know Mahatma Gandhi after the 1982 film “Gandhi.”
To this, Kharge said, “If people from Gujarat don’t know about Mahatma Gandhi, what can we say? Why are you not promoting the person we consider the Father of the Nation? He is also from Gujarat. We respect him but you have chosen Godse.”
