India: Naxals destabilising country, misleading people: Patil

Shirdi, Mar 1 (PTI) Amidst protests against the new citizenship law, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil on Sunday accused the "Leftists, urban and rural Naxals" of trying to destabilise the country and mislead people over different issues.

The former Maharashtra minister also said that as the government has crushed the Naxals in the last five years, "silent Naxalism" has started and misleading people was part of it.

He said the Congress, NCP and the Muslim community should realise that the Leftists were trying to disturb the country's peace and push their own agenda.

Patil was addressing a press conference during his visit to the Saibaba Samadhi in Shirdi town in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.

"Muslims in the country, Congress and NCP are not able to understand that Leftists, Maoists, urban Naxals and rural Naxals, who are on the rise, want to destabilise the country.

Urban Naxals are trying to mislead the people on various issues," he said in response to a query on the forces behind the anti-CAA protests.

"I appeal to our opponents Congress and NCP that elections and running a government are different things.

Sometimes you win, sometimes we. But they should take note of the incidents that are destabilising the country," he added.

Patil said members of the Muslim community should tell in a debate what their problems are (concerning the CAA).

"It is being fed in your mind that you have a problem.

Anywhere it is being said that (PM Narendra) Modiji is going to build a jail in Delhi and Muslims from across the country will be put there. Is it possible? So how does this get into the minds of Muslims?" he added.

"In this, Muslims are harming themselves...disturbing the long-established brotherhood. This disturbance will make life difficult. They don't realise that they are being trapped.

"Congress, NCP don't realise that they are opposing the CAA in favour of Muslims, but the Leftists are benefiting from it. They want to disturb the country. It is not about any political party. It is all the agenda of the Leftists," he said.

"For years, despite using guns, they did not get success through rural Naxals. The government completely drove them away. In five years, the Naxals were finished. Now 'silent Naxalism' has started and misleading people is part of it," he alleged.

When asked whether the use of abusive language allegedly by BJP leader Narayan Rane and his politician sons against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut suits the party's culture, Patil said he hasn't noticed anything like this.

"The BJP believes in culture, but it does not mean that we are cowards. Everyone has a different personality. If anyone says anything wrong, then the party will act against it. I have not noticed anything like it," he said.

"If Shiv Sena does whatever it wants, and if Raut writes whatever he wants in the editorial of 'Saamana' (Sena mouthpiece)...does it suit their culture?" he asked.