Clarify stand on slogans at JNU, Amit Shah tells Gandhis

BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to clarify whether or not they supported the slogans raised in the JNU in the name of freedom of speech.

Mr Shah, while addressing a function in Bahraich on Wednesday, said the Parliament was already debating whether slogans like “Afzal hum sharminda hain, tere qaatil zinda hain” could be permitted in the name of freedom of expression. He alleged that the Congress was supporting divisive forces for the sake of vote bank politics

“We have to decide whether such slogans can be allowed for the sake of vote bank politics and also whether people will support those who mouth such slogans. Is it right for political parties to support anti-national parties for the sake of votes ” he asked.

“Rahulji don’t stoop so low for vote bank politics. The country got freedom due to the sacrifice of thousands of martyrs. You are supporting the forces dividing the country in the name of freedom of speech,” he said.

The BJP president said that in the name of freedom of speech, anti-national elements could not be allowed to flourish. He said that those who practise vote bank politics should know that votes that are divisive in nature will destroy the nation.

Mr Shah, who unveiled the statue of Raja Suheldev Rajbhar in Bahraich, said that the latter had fought against Mughals and forced them to retreat.

He said that whenever the nation faced challenges, the nationalist elements joined hands to protect it.

Mr Shah, who arrived in Bahraich on a one-day visit, was given a tumultuous welcome by party workers.