Union minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh on Tuesday said the Election Commission should ban the use of green flags, often associated with political and religious bodies associated with Muslims, alleging that they spread hate and create a perception of being used in Pakistan.
Known for his hardline Hindutva views that have oftentriggered controversies, Singh said his fight from this parliamentaryconstituency is against a “gang” working for “breaking up”India, and asserted that he represents the agenda of cultural nationalism anddevelopment.
In an interview to PTI, the saffron party leader assertedthe BJP-led NDA would improve its 2014 tally of 31 seats in Bihar (which hastotal 40 Lok Sabha seats) and it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself who isthe alliance candidate on every seat and all contesting leaders “are hissymbols”.
Singh is locked in a triangular contest with RJD’s TanveerHasan and young CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar. He had won with a margin of over 1.4lakh votes from Bihar’s Nawada Lok Sabha constituency in 2014, but has beenshifted to Begusarai this time.
He had publicly expressed his anguish over the shift but wasplacated by the central leadership with party president Amit Shah himselfreaching out to him.
The contest here has become one of the most talked aboutones in this general election due to Singh being seen as a face of the BJP’sunyielding Hindutva philosophy and Kumar, a former JNU student union leader,presenting himself as a fiery challenger to the saffron ideology. The seat goesto the poll on April 29.
Singh said “supporters of separatism andterrorism” have assembled in the constituency — an apparent attack onKumar, who has been accused by the BJP of backing student protesters in the JNUwho had allegedly raised anti-Indian slogans. Kumar has rejected theallegations.
Singh claimed opposition parties are trying to polarisevoters on communal lines, as he referred to Congress leader Navjot SinghSidhu’s recent suggestion to Muslims at an election rally in Bihar to voteunitedly to oust Modi from power. The Election Commission on Monday bannedSidhu from campaigning for 72 hours.
Calling Sidhu a close associate of Congress president RahulGandhi, Singh claimed that Gandhi chose to contest from Wayanad seat in Keralaas part of a “well-planned” strategy to divide India on religiouslines as was the case during the pre-independence era leading to the creationof Pakistan.
“Did you see the procession in Wayanad when RahulGandhi filed his nomination papers? It seemed he was going to contest fromRawalpindi in Pakistan. The flags seen there bore so much resemblance withPakistan flags. They spread hate, not love,” he said and demanded that theElection Commission should ban them.
Wayanad has a sizeable Muslim population and the IndianUnion Muslim League, a Congress ally in Kerala, has a strong presence in theregion. The IUML’s flag is of green colour.
“What does that flag show? Journalists like you ask ifI think it is a Pakistani flag. It is not about this. The perception was, whenthose flags were seen, that this nomination is happening in Rawalpindi,”Singh said.
When told that Muslims have been using green flags longbefore Pakistan came into being in 1947, Singh shot back, saying, “That iswhy. To me this is reflective of Pakistan.”
Gandhi is fighting election from Waynad in Kerala as well asfrom Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
In a swipe at the opposition party, Singh said the Congressparty in its next manifesto seek talk about redefining the minorities in thecountry.
He said Sidhu has talked about “64 per cent”minorities in his speech in Katihar, while they are 98 per cent in Kashmir,over 70 per cent in Kishanganj and 15-18 per cent in Begusarai, but they arecalled minority everywhere.
Opposition parties, Singh asserted, have no constructiveagenda as development has touched the poor for the first time under the Modigovernment.
Lalu Prasad, the head of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), andCommunists, who enjoyed influence in the region for decades before their powerwaned considerably, have “destroyed” Begusarai, he said.
On the other hand, Modi after becoming Prime Minister hasworked to revive industries, including a refinery in Barauni and fertilizerprojects, the BJP leader said.
Singh said his rivals show a “distorted mindset”over issues of development and nationalism and his job is to awaken people toensure that they cast their votes for his agenda of cultural nationalism anddevelopment.
Asserting that Bihar will throw up a surprise when resultsare announced with a better tally for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance(NDA) than 31 seats it got in 2014, Singh said, “Modi is the alliancecandidate on every seat and we are all his symbols”.
People voted for Modi’s goodwill in 2014, but this timethere is goodwill and his government’s work that will result in the NDA gettingmore votes than the last time, he said.
The presence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led JD(U)in the NDA will further help the alliance, he added.