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It shows BJP's communal mindset: Congress slams Amit Shah's Kasab jibe

The Congress lashed out at BJP after Amit Shah's jibe.

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BJP President Amit Shah today dubbed Congress, SP and BSP as "KASAB", adding yet another acronym in the Uttar Pradesh poll campaign, and said development will elude the state till "Kasab is laid to rest".

Elaborating on the acronym at an election meeting here, he said, "Ye Uttar Pradesh ki janata is baar ke chunav mein is Kasab se mukti paa le. Main phir se bolta hu Uttar Pradesh ki janata is baar ke chunav mein is Kasab se mukti paa le. Kasab se mera matlab kuch aur mat nikaliyega. Kasab se mera matlab hai- KA se Congress, SA se Samajwadi Party aur B se BSP." (In this election, people of UP should get rid of Kasab.

I say it again, people of UP should get rid of Kasab. Do not take any other meaning when I say Kasab. What I mean by KASAB is -- KA for Congress, SA for Samajwadi Party and B for BSP. Shah made these comments while seeking to draw a parallel between the rival parties and the Mumbai attack perpetrator Ajmal Kasab.

"Until and unless Kasab is laid to rest, development and prosperity will continue to elude the poll-bound state. "In other words, it means that the state may have to languish further, if there is no respite from these political parties," he said.

He further said: “Jab tak kasab ko khatam nahin karoge, UP ko bhala nahin hoga.” Shah’s comments come after he was likened to a terrorist by a SP leader. He also claimed that the UP government gave laptops based on people's caste and religion. Reacting to the statement, Congress Abhishek Singhvi said the statement showed BJP's communal mindset. He was quoted saying by ANI: "Need to end acronyms, statement shows BJP's repulsive thinking. It shows party's communal mindset." 

Earlier, BJP President Amit Shah on Wednesday ruled out any post-poll alliance with the BSP or any other party in the event of a hung assembly in Uttar Pradesh, confident that the party will get a "full majority".

As UP gears up for the fourth phase of the seven-phase Assembly elections tomorrow, Shah, 52, also said that the BJP not naming a chief ministerial candidate was part of the party's poll "strategy".

"Kisi se bhi haath milane ka dur-dur tak koi swaal nahin uthatha (there is no question by far of joining hands with any party)," he said while speaking about whether the BJP would be willing to ally with the BSP or any other party to form a government in the politically crucial state if it fell short of a majority.

The comments by Shah come against the backdrop of some poll surveys and political experts projecting a hung assembly in UP given that all the three players the SP-Congress, BSP and BJP have a robust set-up and a loyal social base in the state. Shah, who has campaigned extensively in UP, acknowledges the importance of the poll outcome in the state to 2019 Lok Sabha polls but at the same time he feels that the results would be even more crucial for the country's development.

Working hard to recreate the magic of 2014 that gave BJP 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the face of stiff competition from the SP-Congress alliance and Mayawati's BSP, the BJP strongman answered a wide range of questions on the elections in UP and four other States and their importance to the party as well as to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has also campaigned intensely in the country's biggest state.

Shah expressed confidence that his party will form the next government in UP, Uttarakhand and Goa with "full majority" but is unwilling to make a prediction about Punjab, noting that it was a triangular contest there involving the SAD-BJP, Congress and AAP. "In Goa, Uttarakhand and UP, we will form governments with full majority. It is 'trikoniay muqablaa hai (triangular contest) in Punjab, so it is difficult to make a guess who will win," he added. 

Earlier, a Samajwadi Party minister leader stoked a controversy by calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah "terrorists" which invited sharp reaction from the Centre's ruling party which said use of such "intemperate language" shows SP's "frustration". "Both of them want to create an environment of fear in the state for votes. They (Modi and Shah) are terrorists. They are creating terror in our democracy," Rajendra Chaudhary told reporters. He said "BJP has nothing" to say about its work and therefore its leaders are making "wild allegations".

"The BJP knows it is losing the UP polls and it will perform worse than even in Bihar," said Chowdhury, who is also a minister in the Akhilesh Yadav Cabinet. The Prime Minister and the BJP national president have been attacking the ruling Samajwadi Party in their campaign rallies. Modi had yesterday suggested that SP government was discriminating among people on the basis of religion and caste.

The SP leader today said Shah "used to terrorise voters" from the dais and many times its own workers "get afraid of him due to his behaviour". BJP has reacted sharply to the "intemperate language" of the leader.

"It is their (SP's) frustration and people of UP will punish them for such intemperate language against the PM," said BJP vice president and party's UP in-charge Om Mathur. He said the SP is losing the elections badly and that is the reason for use of such language in utter frustration.

 

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