11-14-2007, 05:15 AM
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Secularism at the core BJP's ideology: Naqvi
PTI | Shimla
Posted online: November 13, 2007 Strongly refuting the charge that BJP was a 'communal' party which, along with RSS, had made Gujarat its 'communal laboratory', senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday said his party was nationalist and believed in secularism as defined in the constitution.
Dismissing the allegation by political rivals as 'baseless' at a press conference here on Tuesday Naqvi said, "BJP is a nationalist party and secularism, as defined in the constitution of India, is at the core of its ideology."
Hitting back at the party's political adversaries, Naqvi, who is the BJP's national vice president, said, "BJP does not need a certificate from pseudo secularists like the Congress to prove that it is not communal."
Rubbishing the charge that the party along with the RSS had converted Gujarat into a 'communal laboratory' he said BJP never justified communal riots in Gujarat and criticised the Congress for making the post-Godhra riots its main poll plank in the coming assembly elections in Gujarat.
Alleging that more than 48,000 communal riots took place in the country during over 45 years of Congress rule including those at Meerut, Baroda, Bhagalpur and Mysore, Naqvi asked the Congress to check its track record before levelling charges against BJP.
Replying to a question he said the Tehelka sting operation on Gujarat riots would have no impact and claimed that the BJP would comfortably return to power in Gujrat as people were impressed with the achievements of Narendra Modi Government.
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> Secularism at the core BJP's ideology: Naqvi
PTI | Shimla
Posted online: November 13, 2007 Strongly refuting the charge that BJP was a 'communal' party which, along with RSS, had made Gujarat its 'communal laboratory', senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday said his party was nationalist and believed in secularism as defined in the constitution.
Dismissing the allegation by political rivals as 'baseless' at a press conference here on Tuesday Naqvi said, "BJP is a nationalist party and secularism, as defined in the constitution of India, is at the core of its ideology."
Hitting back at the party's political adversaries, Naqvi, who is the BJP's national vice president, said, "BJP does not need a certificate from pseudo secularists like the Congress to prove that it is not communal."
Rubbishing the charge that the party along with the RSS had converted Gujarat into a 'communal laboratory' he said BJP never justified communal riots in Gujarat and criticised the Congress for making the post-Godhra riots its main poll plank in the coming assembly elections in Gujarat.
Alleging that more than 48,000 communal riots took place in the country during over 45 years of Congress rule including those at Meerut, Baroda, Bhagalpur and Mysore, Naqvi asked the Congress to check its track record before levelling charges against BJP.
Replying to a question he said the Tehelka sting operation on Gujarat riots would have no impact and claimed that the BJP would comfortably return to power in Gujrat as people were impressed with the achievements of Narendra Modi Government.