Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated that he has never spoken against minorities and that the BJP has never acted against them, in an interview with PTI Videos on Sunday.
Amid accusations from the opposition that his election speeches are divisive, Modi said, “I have not spoken a word against minorities. I am only talking against the vote-bank politics of Congress. The Congress is working against the Constitution, that’s what I have been saying.”
Modi criticized the Congress for what he described as their violation of the secular spirit of the Constitution through vote-bank politics aimed at appeasing minorities. He said that his campaign speeches are focused on exposing these tactics.
Modi said that the Constitution’s framers, including B R Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru, had decided against reservations based on religion, and he sees it as his responsibility to uphold these principles.
“Now you are turning away from that. It is my responsibility to expose them. At that time there were no members of my party in the Constituent Assembly. It was an assembly of eminent people from across the country,” he said.
When questioned further about his position on minorities, Modi said, “BJP has never been against minorities. Not just today but never.” He differentiated his approach from the Congress, saying, “I follow the path of satisfaction. Their politics is that of appeasement. My politics is that of ‘sabka saath sabka vikas’. We believe in ‘sarva dharma sambhav’. We want to take everyone along with us. We are not ready to accept anyone as special citizens but consider everyone equal.”
