I am a Hindu but oppose Hindutva: Congress leader Siddaramaiah
Hubballi (K'taka), Jan 6: Asserting that he is a Hindu but opposed to Hindutva, former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said he never opposed Ram Temple in Ayodhya but was against using it for political gain.
He even claimed that he had constructed many Ram temples in the rural areas of Karnataka.
To a question, he said he was never opposed to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. "Were we ever opposed to the Ram Temple? Our objection is only using the temple for political gain. It should not be used against people of other faith. The BJP is using it for political gain," Siddaramaiah charged.
"I am a Hindu. How can I be anti-Hindu? I am opposed to Hindutva and politics around Hindu faith. All the faiths are equal according to the Indian Constitution," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.
He was replying to a query on BJP's charge that he was anti-Hindu. BJP national general secretary C T Ravi had in the past called him 'Siddaramullah Khan', a name accepted by Siddaramaiah as a complement because it endorsed his secular credential.
Siddaramaiah said India has a multi-religious culture where everyone should be taken along and each one should be seen as a human being. That is what the Constitution says and we should abide by it, he said.
The Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka assembly said his party is always against those who promote communalism and do caste and religion based politics.
When asked about Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's statement questioning the RSS' role in the freedom struggle, Siddaramaiah said no one from the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS took part in India's independence movement.
Siddaramaiah said the RSS came into being in 1925 and Keshav Baliram Hedgewar was the RSS founder and later Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar headed the organisation.
"Did anyone of them or the RSS office bearers take part in the freedom struggle? The freedom struggle was at its peak during that period. Did they participate in the struggle? No. Please tell me that from 1925 to 1947 who all from Hindu Mahasabha or the RSS participated in the freedom struggle?" the Congress leader asked.
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BJP's main agenda is to keep minorities in fear, alleges Stalin
Chennai (PTI): DMK President M K Stalin has alleged that the BJP's main agenda is to keep the minorities in fear, and everyone is aware of what is happening in the states governed by the saffron party.
Stalin further alleged that Muslims continued to be subjected to attacks.
"Now, a situation has arisen where even Christmas could not be celebrated peacefully. Christians are being targeted. The entire country is a witness to what is happening in Manipur. The BJP's plan of action is that a state of insecurity for minorities should spread like a wildfire across the country," he told PTI in an interview.
That was why it first enacted the CAA, and the next was an amendment to the Waqf law, and now it is "desperate" to amend the FCRA, he alleged, and lashed out at AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami.
"Palaniswami, who supports all these three amendments and has formed an alliance with the BJP, does not have any concern for the welfare of minorities. However, the DMK is always firm in its commitment to ensure that India must always be a secular state; that people belonging to all religions must be equally respected and that the Constitutional safeguards conferred on minorities must be upheld. If any of these is threatened, the DMK will be the first party to raise its voice against it," he said.
Denying that the BJP made the minorities feel insecure, BJP state vice president M Chakravarthy said the chief minister was making the allegation due to the "fear that the Christian and Dalit votes would go to Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam led by actor-politician Vijay."
He was depicting the BJP as a bogeyman in an attempt to create unnecessary apprehension among the minorities, the BJP leader told PTI.
On FCRA, Chakravarthy asked, "What's wrong with ensuring accountability in the use of funds?"
