Rajnath Singh slams Congress over appeasement politics

New Delhi, Apr 24: 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.