Indore, Oct 4 (PTI) The BJP will emerge victorious in the Haryana assembly polls, party spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain has said, asserting that last-minute defection by Dalit leader Ashok Tanwar to Congress won’t impact their prospects.
He also said that Hindutava ideologue VD Savarkar may have had different views on many issues but Congress leaders have no right to insult him.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Hussain expressed confidence that his party would retain Haryana, where assembly polls will be held on October 5 and votes will be counted on October 8.
“We did not know Tanwar was so fickle-minded. He kept campaigning for the BJP throughout the day and switched to the Congress in the evening,” the former Union minister said.
Tanwar had joined the BJP in early 2024 and unsuccessfully contested against Congress leader Kumari Selja from Sirsa Lok Sabha seat in May.
Hussain said, “If Tanwar had any political bearing, he would have won the last Lok Sabha elections.” The BJP leader said his party will win the Haryana polls with the support of all communities.
He also slammed the Congress over Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao’s controversial remarks about Savarkar.
Rao, while addressing an event in Bengaluru, claimed that Savarkar used to eat meat and was not against cow slaughter. He also claimed that Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, was not a fundamentalist but Savarkar was.
“Congress leaders should not defame the name of Swatantryaveer Savarkar this way. Savarkar is respected throughout the country. His views may be different on many issues, but Congress leaders do not have the right to insult him,” he said.
Shahnawaz also thanked the Maharashtra government for declaring the indigenous cows as ‘Rajyamata-Gomata’.
“Cow is the gomata for the entire country. We want from the beginning that cow slaughter be banned in the country,” he added. PTI HWP LAL NR
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