Reiterating that the secularism for Congress meant building trust among various communities, Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Friday accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of creating divisions among Hindus and Muslims.
He also asked why all Hindus accused in various blast cases were related to the RSS.
The Congress leader stated that the Congress had prepared a list of lies spread by Modi and it will be declared at appropriate time.
“The Sangh people would ask after every terror incident that even though all Muslims are not terrorists, why are all terrorists Muslims? There have been six cases where Hindus have been accused of terrorism activities and they are all related with Sangh ideology. So, the question can be asked as to though all Hindus are not terrorists, why are all Hindus accused of terrorism activities are related to Sangh,” he said.
Singh was in Pune after returning from Pandharpur, where he comes every year since 1992 for the darshan of Panduranga on Ashadi Ekadashi.
Referring to Modi's speech in Pune last Sunday in which he accused Congress of wearing veil (burqa) of secularism, Singh said that Modi always creates division between the two communities.
“He could have said chadar (sheet) instead, but he deliberately used burqa because it is a religious symbol,” he said.
He said that any analysis of elections in Gujarat shows that Modi talks about development till four days prior to voting and then suddenly uses a language which is full of religious symbolism.
When his attention was pointed to Modi's remark about Maharashtra not getting benefit of Narmada Project's power, which could save Rs 400 crore, annually, Singh said, “The work of canals in Gujarat itself is still incomplete. What Modi says, 60 per cent of it are lies. It is his mentality. We have made a list of such lies and we will make it public at appropriate time.”
When asked what the definition of secularism for Congress is, Singh said, “For us, building trust among various communities is secularism. A Hindu trusted by a Muslim is secular while a Muslim trusted by Hindu is secular.”
Singh also said that Congress has started preparations for the elections. But he firmly stated that the elections will be held in April-May 2004 and there are no plans to bring them closer. “We are trying to decide the Lok Sabha candidates early on this time. The plan is to give enough time to them for preparations,” he said.
Singh also supported Pune's Member of Parliament, Suresh Kalmadi, who is facing charges of corruption in Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. When asked whether Conress has any plans to take him back in the party, he did not reply directly but said, “Kalmadi is my friend and I am sure that he will prove his innocence one day.”
