Senior BJP leader and Defence minister Rajnath Singh dismissed the allegations of misuse of power to force out the competition in the Lok Sabha elections and pointed out that unopposed elections are not uncommon in India, with Congress candidates winning unopposed numerous times in the past.
In an interview with The Indian Express, Rajnath Singh said, “Why did you (Congress) give tickets to such candidates? We never approached them. If someone comes to us and says ‘I want to support you’, should we say ‘No’?”
Read: Rajnath takes a dig at Rahul over seat shift
In a major setback to the Congress in Indore, its candidate Akshay Kanti Bam pulled back from the contest on April 29, the last date for withdrawal of nominations, and joined the BJP. Just a week before the Indore development, the BJP candidate in Gujarat’s Surat, Mukesh Dalal, was declared the winner after Congress nominee Nilesh Kumbhani’s nomination was rejected and other candidates dropped out of the contest.
“They may have realised that the Modi government is doing well and they cannot win. You should question that party… Why are you blaming us? Keeping the candidate on your side was your responsibility,” the BJP leader said.
Read: No one will be poor in next 10 yrs of BJP rule: Rajnath
Rajnath Singh also addressed the controversy surrounding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent remarks, where he used terms like “those who have more children,” “illegal immigrants” for Muslims, and said the mangal sutra being taken away and given to Muslims.
“Try to understand the context. Sam Pitroda talked about inheritance tax. You tell me, will it not lead to economic recession? Such statements would discourage people from creating wealth. The incentives for creating wealth will be discouraged. There are countries like Venezuela which suffered due to tax policies like inheritance tax,” Singh said.
He cautioned against misinterpreting Modi’s words, saying that references to the mangal sutra were merely attempts to make complex issues understandable to the public.
“Don’t read too much into the mangal sutra term. He was trying to make people understand. It’s a term everyone will understand when you want to refer to gold. You (Congress leader Rahul Gandhi) are talking about a wealth survey…Why do you want to do a survey?”
Regarding the alleged misuse of central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the Income Tax department in political cases, Rajnath Singh asserted that these agencies operate independently and have been given autonomy by the government.
“They were not allowed to function earlier. They never enjoyed the autonomy they were supposed to get. We have given them autonomy. Just look at the value of assets attached during the UPA and the NDA tenures. During UPA time, the value of assets attached by the ED was only ₹5,086 crore; during the NDA time it is ₹1.2 lakh crore. Are we causing loss to the nation or doing good?” he said.