RLD chief Ajit Singh: BJP fanning communal passions ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh has accused the BJP of creating communal tension in the country ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The former union minister said that the Grand Alliance of RLD, Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh.

The RLD president is the Grand Alliance's candidate from Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh that was rocked by communal clashes in August and September 2013 leaving more than 60 people dead and over 40,000 displaced.

The BJP is trying to create communal tensions and polarise voters to benefit in the coming Lok Sabha polls. But the Grand Alliance will defeat the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Singh said in his first election rally here on Saturday.

I am contesting from Muzaffarnagar to save the country's Constitution and democracy which are being destroyed by the BJP governments at the Centre and the state, Singh said.

The Grand Alliance wants to end the communal politics of the BJP in the state especially in western Uttar Pradesh by defeating the BJP, he said, urging party workers to restore the brotherhood among communities in Muzaffarnagar.

The seven-time MP also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused him of politicising the Indian Air Force (IAF) air strike in Pakistan's Balakot.

We are proud of the IAF for carrying out the air strike in Pakistan but the BJP is politicising the issue, he said.

Democracy is in danger and all Constitutional institutions are being destroyed by the Narendra Modi government, the veteran leader claimed.

-PTI