Amid the BJP's repeated 'Muslim League imprint' barb over the Congress manifesto, Rahul Gandhi on April 10 said history is witness as to who joined hands with the forces that wanted to divide the country and asserted that history does not change by "spewing lies" from political platforms.
Mr. Gandhi said that the 2024 Lok Sabha polls are a fight between two ideologies, with the Congress, which has always united India, on one side and those who have always tried to divide people on the other side.
"This election is a fight between two ideologies! On one side there is the Congress, which has always united India, and on the other side there are those who have always tried to divide people," the former Congress chief said in a post in Hindi.
“History is witness as to who joined hands with the forces that wanted to divide the country and strengthened them and who fought for the unity and independence of the country,” Mr. Gandhi said.
"Who stood with the British during the 'Quit India Movement'? When India's jails were filled with Congress leaders, then who was running the government in the States with the forces that divided the country?" he said. History does not change by "spewing lies" from political platforms, he added.
Mr. Gandhi's remarks come amid repeated attacks by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the Congress manifesto bears a 'Muslim League imprint'.
The Congress has moved the Election Commission against his remarks while party chief Mallikarjun Kharge has said that "there is a stink of RSS" in Modi's speeches.
The Congress has alleged that the Prime Minister is resorting to the "cliched Hindu-Muslim script" as he is scared that the BJP may struggle to even cross the 180-seat mark in the Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress has countered the BJP pointing out that Jan Sangha founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the president of the Hindu Mahasabha then, was himself part of the coalition government in Bengal with the Muslim League in the early 1940s.
Published - April 10, 2024 01:50 pm IST
