BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday alleged that some Muslim bodies are trying to vitiate the poll atmosphere in Maharashtra and Jharkhand by appealing to their community members to vote for the I.N.D.I.A. bloc on the lines of religion, and urged the Election Commission and the Supreme Court to take action in the matter.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, party national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said All India Muslim Personal Law Board's functionary Maulana Sajjad Nomani has said that the outfit has decided to support Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on 269 seats and other non-BJP parties on a few seats in Maharashtra Assembly polls.
He said that Nomani has appealed to the Muslims to vote for the MVA, saying the outcome of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections will have an impact not only on the future of the state but also on the future of the entire country.
Earlier the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind's Lohardaga unit appealed to the Muslims to vote en bloc for the Congress-JMM-RJD-CPI (ML) Liberation combine in Jharkhand, Bhatia claimed.
"This is called vote jihad," he said, adding, "This is the height of appeasement politics" by the MVA in Maharashtra and Congress-JMM in Jharkhand.
Bhatia said that an appeal for votes made on the basis of religion amounts to corrupt practices.
"It can not be tolerated in a democracy like ours where elections have to be as pure as Mother Ganges. It's a very worrisome trend that we have seen that for the lust of power, the Congress, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray are ready to appease, adopt infiltrators and say 'I love you' to illegal immigrants," he said.
He said illegal immigrants can be a threat to national security but it doesn't matter to the I.N.D.I.A. bloc parties.
Bhatia said when Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a "positive slogan" for national unity, saying "ek rahoge toh, safe rahoge", the I.N.D.I.A. bloc raised objections even though "a wise person, even a child would say this is the mool mantra for the progress of the country".
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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