Congress questions PM Modi's tough stance on religious intolerance

Allahabad: Against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strong stand on religious intolerance and RSS' Hindutva agenda, Congress on Thursday asked the BJP leader if he would be able to effectively "rein in his own people".

"The RSS and all its affiliates, including the BJP, have been believing that with Modi as PM, conditions are ripe for taking the Hindutva agenda forward. "The controversial statements made by those associated with the Sangh Parivar on religious conversions, 'ghar wapsi' and increasing the Hindu population confirm this inference", Special Invitee to the Congress Working Committee, Anil Shastri said in a statement.

"In the present circumstances, when the Prime Minister asserts that he would not tolerate religious intolerance in the country, it is natural to ask whether he would be able to effectively rein in his own people", Shastri said.

The former Union Minister also said that BJP, which is negotiating with the People's Democratic Party (PDP) with regard to formation of a government in Jammu and Kashmir, "must come clean on its stand with regard to Article 370 and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)".

Taking pot shots over the controversy surrounding the alleged Rs 10-lakh bandhgala suit worn by the PM during his meeting with US President Barack Obama in New Delhi last month, Shastri claimed "it needed a massive drubbing in Delhi Assembly elections for some good sense to prevail and raise money for public welfare by auctioning the prohibitively expensive dress".

He also expressed hope that the Congress, in dire straits after its huge defeat in the general elections last year, "will be able to revive itself. That such a revival is possible has been proved by the re-emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, where it was wiped out in the Lok Sabha polls".

Referring to the Vyapam scam of BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Shastri alleged that "crucial evidences have been tampered with to save the near and dear ones of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan". He added that the Congress will take part in the forthcoming Budget Session of the Parliament "with a positive approach".