Sensing defeat in LS polls, opposition indulging in divisive politics: BJP

New Delhi, Mar 26 (PTI) The BJP slammed INDIA opposition bloc leaders on Tuesday for their latest remarks targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused them of indulging in "divisive politics" to vitiate the country's atmosphere sensing their imminent defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing a press conference at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters here, party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi appealed to people to "discard" and give a betting reply to such kind of "regressive forces" in the upcoming parliamentary polls by voting for Modi for the country's progress.

Trivedi lashed out at Karnataka minister Shivaraj Tangadagi's "slap youngsters who raise 'Modi, Modi' slogans" remarks and accused him of provoking people to resort to violence in the run-up to the election.

Tangadagi's remarks also showed that "Rahul Gandhi's Congress" has nothing to do with the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, who always favoured non-violent means of protest, the BJP leader said and asked the Congress if this is the kind of democracy it wants to establish in the country.

"Given their imminent defeat in the election, such remarks symbolise a dangerous propensity of even resorting to violence out of frustration," Trivedi said and demanded that the Congress make it clear if such kinds of "divisive and violence-provoking" statements have any relevance in a democracy.

He also slammed the opposition party over a comment posted on social media platforms from its leader Supriya Shrinate's accounts against actress Kangana Ranaut, who has been fielded by the BJP from the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency in Himachal Pradesh, saying it proves that the Congress and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive alliance (INDIA) are playing into the hands of "some unknown powers".

"She (Shrinate) deleted the post, saying someone who had access to her (social media) accounts had posted it. This makes it clear from where the social media accounts of the Congress are operated. The country should understand that such kind of negative and dastardly comments by the Congress are not made by default, but by design.

"This proves that the Congress and the INDI alliance are playing into the hands of some unknown powers," Trivedi alleged.

Latching on to Kerala Chief Minister and CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan's remarks that "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Jai Hind" slogans were first raised by two Muslims, the Trivedi accused him of indulging in divisive politics for votes and said such kind of "stale and 100-year-old" politics is not going to yield any positive result for the opposition parties as people are with Modi.

"This should be discarded and a new era and a new brand of politics under the leadership of Modiji should be supported. I urge people to give a befitting reply to such regressive politics," he said.

"I urge the youngsters of the country that the time has come to stand by Modi for ushering India into a new era that will make it an economic superpower and the most prominent country in the world, which is its legitimate and designated place," he added.

Trivedi accused opposition leaders of resorting to such "negative politics" in the run-up to the election as part of their efforts to seek "power and control over the country's wealth in favour of their families".

He hit out at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin for "misleading" people with his claim that the Modi government has done nothing for the people of the southern state.

Trivedi said while the BJP-led NDA under Modi's leadership is moving towards achieving its target of securing more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha polls with the support of people, the other parties are heading for a political "suicide" with their negative remarks and infighting.

The Lok Sabha election is scheduled to be held in seven phases, starting April 19. The counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.

Replying to reporters' queries, Trivedi slammed Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for his remarks about BJP's Varun Gandhi and said he should think about himself and his party, instead of others.

Chowdhury claimed on Tuesday that Varun Gandhi was denied a Lok Sabha poll ticket by the BJP because of his connection with the Gandhi family and extended an invitation to him to join the Congress.

Chowdhury described Varun Gandhi as a "dabang neta (strong leader)" and said he is a learned man with a clean image. PTI PK RC