India News | Strength Lies in Unity, Congress Indulging in Divisive Politics: Union Minister Shekhawat

Mumbai, Nov 16 (PTI) Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Saturday said saints in India have for 1,000 years spoken about the power and strength in unity, accusing Congress of indulging in divisive politics.

In an interview with PTI Videos, Shekhawat, who is in the state to canvas for candidates of the Mahayuti ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections, said from the time of Independence, the grand old party committed a sin of dividing people on religious, economic and caste lines.

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The Union minister for culture and tourism said leaders from the ruling Mahayuti who have distanced themselves from the BJP's "batoge toh katoge" (if divided, we will perish) and "ek hai toh safe hai" (we are safe if we are united) rhetoric have the right to do so.

BJP leaders Pankaja Munde and Ashok Chavan and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar have expressed their disapproval of the slogan "batoge toh katoge" used by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in his rallies.

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"Everyone has the right to understand and evaluate every slogan and statement from their view point. For 1,000 years, great saints have spoken about strength in unity in their stories. If we are one, we will be powerful. The Congress committed a sin of dividing people from the time of Independence on religious, caste and economic lines," he said.

The MP from Jodhpur expressed confidence that the BJP will be the party with the most number of MLAs in Maharashtra, and Mahayuti will defeat Maha Vikas Aghadi and form a government with a thumping majority.

"The BJP's beliefs and resolutions don't change after poll results. Even after the Mahayuti government came to power two and half years ago and before that, when the BJP government was working for five years under Devendra Fadnavis, and since the party was established, we have worked towards making a Viksit Bharat. Irrespective of the outcome of polls, our aim and path are fixed," he said.

Shekhawat emphasised that Maharashtra was the growth engine for Viksit Bharat, and the Mahayuti will form a government and work towards that.

He said Congress leaders dubbing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a terrorist organisation was "unfortunate".

Since its establishment, the RSS has worked to keep the country united and has contributed in a big way to the belief that India is one from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and will never disintegrate, he said.

The Union minister claimed that whenever Congress announced welfare schemes, it did so without economic planning or evaluation and failed in its execution.

"When the Mahayuti announced the Ladki Bahin scheme for women and implemented it, they (MVA) tried to create obstacles and opposed it, accusing the government of bribing and disrespecting women. And now, they have come up with a similar initiative, put it in an envelope and are unveiling it as if it is something new," he said.

On the Shiv Sena (UBT) questioning the move of poll authorities to check the bag of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, he said all political parties are the same in the eyes of the Election Commission.

Shekhawat said, "We are all the same in front of the ECI, but people indulging in dynastic politics, like the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) or Samajwadi Party, consider themselves above this arrangement. In the eyes of the law, we are all equal, and when an agency or organisation takes action, there is no need to worry."

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)