Delhi Violence: 'Sonia Gandhi Should Not Preach Us Rajdharma', Ravi Shankar Prasad Hits Back At Congress

BJP has hit back at Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and other leaders saying they should not try to preach "rajdharma" to the government and look in the mirror instead. Alleging communal violence in northeast Delhi was an outcome of "instigation" by Opposition leaders, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad accused Congress leaders of inciting people with provocative statements.

The BJP's remarks came a day after the Congress leaders, led by Sonia Gandhi, met President Ram Nath Kovind and submitted a memorandum demanding resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah for "abdication of duty" during the communal violence in northeast Delhi. She had also reminded the Centre for its 'rajdharma' and protecting the people from all faiths in the country.

Addressing a press conference at the party office, Ravi Shankar Prasad said Shah was very proactive from the very first day of the violence to stop it. When asked about the controversial remarks by BJP leaders like Kapil Mishra and Parvesh Verma, he said BJP did not approve of such statements.

"Please don't preach us rajdharma. Your record is full of violations, twists and turns for plain and simple vote bank politics. Look at yourself in the mirror of rajdharma," Prasad said on Friday.

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Ravi Shankar Prasad also accused Congress of changing its stand on granting citizenship to persecuted minorities adding that NPR was started by the Congress-led regime.

"A second question on rajdharma, your notification on NPR spoke about a register of the country's citizens. If you do it, it's alright, but if we do it, we are instigating people?" he said.

Ravi Shankar Prasad said BJP condemns the pure politics being played by Congress at such a sensitive time where we all need to talk about is harmony. "For Congress, the party and the family comes before the country," he alleged.

Referring to the Congress chief's remarks of "fight to finish" at a rally in Ramlila Maidan last year, Prasad asked whether such remarks do not constitute provocation.

"You said 'Iss paar ya uss paar faisla lena hai' in Ramlila Maidan. What kind of language is this? Isn't this incitement? This is against constitutional procedure that was followed for the passage of CAA."

Prasad also said commitment to judicial, media and individual freedom is one of the Modi government's "fundamentals" as he cited its leaders' fight against the Emergency to reject criticism over a Delhi High Court judge's transfer.

Asked about the Congress' attack on the government over the transfer of Justice S Muralidhar, Prasad hit back at the party, noting that its government in the 1970s had superseded Supreme Court judges, a move seen as an assault on judicial independence. The minister reiterated that Muralidhar's transfer had nothing to do with any case as a recommendation to this effect was already made by the Supreme Court collegium and the judge had also given his consent.

(With PTI Inputs)