By IANS,
Ranchi : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Wednesday accused the Congress of “communalising terrorism” and urged people to vote for change.
“The Congress is communalizing terrorism in the country for vote-bank politics,” Advani told a Vijay Sankalap rally here.
“Afzal Guru who has been awarded death penalty by the Supreme Court is not hanged because he is a Muslim. If Afzal would have been Hindu, Sikh or from any other religion, the UPA government would have executed him,” said Advani, the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP, which leads the main opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Afzal has been convicted for his role in the Dec 13, 2001 terror attack on parliament and his mercy petition is pending before the president.
“During the NDA rule, terrorists were coming from Pakistan but in the UPA rule terrorists are from within the country,” Advani said.
His comments came against the backdrop of a series of terrorist strikes in many cities in recent months.
He also came down heavily on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement that Muslims have the first right over the country’s resources. “I believe that the poor people have the first right over the resources,” said Advani.
He said in Kerala Muslim students eligible for stipend receive Rs.14,000 a year against Rs.240 given to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes students. “We are not against the welfare of the Muslims but the welfare of the poor should not be compromised.”
Advani criticised the performance of the central government on several counts. “Compare the rule of the NDA with that of the UPA and you will find differences in prices of essential commodities, in the development index of the country and in other sectors.”
He reminded people that it was the NDA government which had created three new states including Jharkhand.
Advani also took a dig at the Manmohan Singh government for winning the July trust vote allegedly by bribing MPs. “Jharkhand came to the rescue of the Narasimha Rao government in 1993 and it again came to the rescue of the Manmohan Singh government,” he said, alluding to the support the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) pledged to the government.
The rally was also addressed by senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, former chief minister Arjun Munda and state BJP president P.N. Singh.