Chandigarh, Jun 9 (PTI) The Congress and AAP on Tuesday slammed the BJP, accusing it of courting radicals for political opportunism and playing the politics of communalism.
The attack comes days after Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan attended the Operation Bluestar anniversary commemoration at the headquarters of Damdami Taksal in Amritsar.
BJP leader Mahajan has kicked up a row by terming Operation Bluestar a “black day” and dubbing those killed in the military action “martyrs” while slamming the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Mahajan also likened the Army action to the invasion of the Golden Temple by Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali.
Mahajan became the first representative of any state government to attend the Operation Bluestar anniversary commemoration at the headquarters of the Sikh seminary last Saturday.
Reacting to the presence of Mahajan at the programme in Amritsar, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Tuesday condemned the Bharatiya Janata Party for allegedly courting the radicals in Punjab for political opportunism.
“It is a classic case of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds,” he remarked about the BJP claiming itself to be a nationalistic party but not minding to share the stage with the radicals and extremists.
Warring asked the BJP leadership to clarify its position.
“Was the Maharashtra BJP leader representing the party or was he on his own?” he asked, adding that in both situations, the BJP owes an explanation to the people of Punjab.
Ludhiana MP Warring pointed out that if someone opposes the BJP, he is instantly damned as “anti-national” and now their own leaders are sharing the stage and space with people whose positions are not unknown to anyone.
“Not that anyone needs a certificate from the BJP but it exposes the duplicity and hypocrisy of the party preaching nationalism to others while resorting to rank opportunism for electoral gains,” he noted in a statement.
He reminded the BJP that Punjab has lost tens of thousands of people during the dark era.
“Punjab has rejected the divisive and sectarian ideology long back. Don’t try to revive it for your electoral gains,” he warned the BJP.
Telling the BJP not to play with fire for “petty” electoral gains, he said Punjabis will never accept the BJP and its divisive agenda and ideology.
“Rather you stand exposed today that you can stoop so low to any levels out of sheer electoral opportunism,” he said.
Warring further reminded the BJP, saying, “Along with tens of thousands of people who were killed, the Congress paid the heaviest price to restore peace in Punjab — we have lost a prime minister and a chief minister to the hatred of the same ideology which you are espousing and embracing now, like ideological cousins.” Operation Bluestar was a military operation carried out in 1984 to flush out militants from the Golden Temple.
Punjab AAP president Aman Arora too hit out at the BJP, asking it to clear its stand.
It exposes the “disgusting face” of the BJP, said Arora, as he accused the saffron party of trying to polarise Hindus and Sikhs.
Going opposite to its stand before the elections, the BJP’s only objective is to get votes, he alleged.
He accused the BJP of playing the politics of communalism. PTI CHS SUN KSS KSS
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