Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on September 4 questioned the silence of Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Ashok Gehlot, on DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks on Sanatana Dharma. Mr. Singh said the DMK, a constituent of the INDIA coalition, had offended the sentiments of Sanatana Dharma’s followers.
Mr. Singh was addressing a public meeting at Ramdevra in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district after flagging off the Opposition BJP’s Parivartan Yatra, which will cover 51 Assembly constituencies in 18 days before culminating in Jodhpur. Three similar yatras of the BJP will traverse other regions of the State during the next two weeks.
Demanding an apology for the comments, Mr. Singh said the DMK leader should be asked for an explanation on why he compared Sanatana Dharma with coronavirus, malaria and dengue fever. “We all know that Sanatana Dharma treats the world as one family and sets high ideals for virtue and morality,” he said.
Mr. Singh said the INDIA coalition had been formed only for stopping Prime Minister Narendra Modi from coming back to power, but it was certain that the alliance would face a “humiliating defeat”. The people had full faith in the NDA government at the Centre, which had taken the country to a new path of progress since 2014, he added.
The Defence Minister took a jibe at Mr. Gandhi and said while Chandrayaan-3 had successfully landed on moon, the Rahulyaan could neither be launched nor landed anywhere. He said the scientists had made the country proud with their successful space missions for making new discoveries related to Mars, sun and moon.
Mr. Singh also attacked the Congress regime in the State, saying there was a complete lack of governance, as well as failure to maintain the law and order situation. Chief Minister Gehlot was sitting on the driver’s seat, but the control was in the hands of others, he said.
Mr. Singh affirmed that the BJP’s victory was certain in the upcoming Assembly election in Rajasthan. Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, BJP State president C.P. Joshi, Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore, and Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Arjun Ram Meghwal also addressed the rally.
