Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath on Monday asserted he is ‘proud to be a Hindu’, but he is not a ‘fool’ and claimed Indian culture is facing attack and the Constitution going into wrong hands, in remarks aimed at the BJP in a state where Assembly polls are due by the year-end.
Nath made the comments while addressing a function organised to mark International Labour Day in Bhopal’s BHEL township, where religious slogans like ‘Jai Hanuman’ and ‘Jai Siya Ram’ were raised from the dais. Highlighting how various festivals are celebrated in BHEL township due to its migratory population, the former chief minister, apparently seeking to counter BJP’s Hindutva plank, said, ‘I am a Hindu. I am proudly saying I am a Hindu, but I am not a fool. This should be understood’. He said people have been living under one flag with harmony despite diversity of caste and religion.
‘Our culture is being attacked…. The Constitution of Dr BR Ambedkar is going into wrong hands’, said the Congress leader in an indirect criticism of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Nath said every section of society is facing problems in the state under the BJP rule. ‘There is a big challenge before people. The picture of the entire state is in front of you. Every section of society is facing difficulties. There is a big challenge for the future of farmers, youths, businessmen. This is not a challenge of any party’, he told the gathering.
The former Union minister maintained people have to decide if they want to save their own future or that of the saffron outfit, which is ruling Madhya Pradesh for nearly two decades barring eighteen months in 2018-20 when the Congress was in power. Mr Nath said talking about ‘mandir-masjid’ will not generate employment. For creating new jobs, there is a need to increase economic activities, he said while accusing Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan of speaking lies and making false promises on employment front.
He announced that if the Congress comes to power in the state Assembly polls, it would declare a holiday on International Labour Day. Former Union minister Suresh Pachouri, Congress MLAs Arif Aqueel (Bhopal North) and Arif Masood (Bhopal Central) were also present at the programme. The Nath-led Congress government, which assumed office in December 2018 after 15 years of BJP rule, collapsed in March 2020 after 22 party MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia, now Union Civil Aviation Minister, rebelled and later joined the saffron party. After this, the BJP came back to power and Mr Chouhan once again became chief minister.
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