Gandhinagar, Mar 8 (PTI) The BJP or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has nothing to do with Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse, Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi asserted in the legislative Assembly on Tuesday, seeking to rebutt Congress accusations that they had a soft corner for Godse.
The minister's assertion came in the backdrop of constant accusations from the opposition Congress that the ruling BJP was soft on Godse.
Earlier in the House, senior Congress MLAs Punja Vansh and Shailesh Parmar criticised the BJP over several issues and cited some recent incidents, which they claimed, showed that Mahatma Gandhi's killer is being given importance in Gujarat under the saffron party's rule.
Accusing the central Congress leadership of creating a false narrative of "saffron terrorism" (Bhagwa Aatankwad), Modi said the RSS creates patriots and instills a sense of patriotism among citizens.
"I want to make it clear that the BJP has nothing to do with Godse. The RSS was banned thrice in the past. First, when Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi (in 1948), then during the Emergency (1975-77) and lastly in 1992 after the demolition of Babri Masjid. But, the ban was lifted on all the three occasions because the government of the day realised that the RSS works for the society," said the minister, who handles the Road and Building portfolio.
He said the BJP does not believe in politics of appeasement.
"The RSS creates patriots and instills a sense of patriotism among citizens. It was Congress which had conspired to create a false narrative of saffron terrorism. Unlike the Congress, which failed to nab accused in terror cases in the past, the Narendra Modi government did not hesitate to conduct a surgical strike (across the LoC) because the BJP does not believe in appeasement politics," said the minister in the House.
Taking part in the discussion, Vansh and Parmar (Congress) slammed the BJP and its government over certain incidents related to Godse.
They referred to a recent incident wherein an elocution competition with "My Role Model - Nathuram Godse" as one of the topics was organised for school students in Valsad by the district office of the state youth services and cultural activities department of the Gujarat government.
Later, the state government suspended the officer who had finalized the subjects for the elocution competition.
In November last year, members of the Hindu Sena, a right-wing outfit, had installed a bust of Godse in Jamnagar. Later, Jamnagar city Congress leaders demolished it.
"The BJP has double standards. While it talks about Mahatma Gandhi, it fails to act against those who put up Godse's bust. Instead, action was taken against those who destroyed it. I demand that the government take stern action against those who indulge in such acts of eulogizing Godse," said Vansh, speaking on the motion of thanks to Governor Acharya Devvrat for his address to the Assembly.
Parmar also slammed the BJP government over the issue of past terror attacks, seeking to know why the State Intelligence Bureau failed to collect prior inputs about these strikes.
"Where was the state IB when innocent citizens were killed in the 2008 serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad, the Akshardham terror attack and the Godhra train carnage? All these raised questions about how the IB had failed to give inputs to the government," said Parmar.
