Congress trying to confuse voters by calling BJP communal: Nitin Gadkari

NEW DELHI: Charging the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre with failure to improve the economy and provide good governance, BJP today said since the ruling party could not convince voters, it was trying to confuse them by branding the main opposition as communal.

At a conclave of the BJP's IT Cell, former party president Nitin Gadkari said Congress was spreading misinformation about the main opposition by alleging that it was communal and anti-minority.

"We do not believe in appeasing anybody on the basis of caste or religion. We stand for socio-economic justice for all... Congress is playing appeasement politics. When it cannot convince the voters, Congress tries to confuse them," Gadkari said.

He maintained that since Congress was not in a position to win the upcoming elections, it was trying to label BJP as a communal party so as to polarise votes.

Gadkari said Congress was not talking about issues and was instead playing the communal card.

"But we will not let the voter get confused," he said. Gadkari claimed that Gujarat riots were being talked about when the truth was that more communal riots had taken place in Maharashtra, which has Congress at the helm, than in Gujarat.

"Now the government is trying to term the encounter of terrorists as fake," he said, referring to the Sohrabuddin and Prajapati encounters in Gujarat.

Lamenting Congress's attitude and its politics of appeasement, Gadkari said the issue is not who forms the next government or who becomes the Prime Minister or a Cabinet Minister.

"What is more important is whether Hindustan will be saved or not," he said.

BJP alleged that the growth story in the IT sector received a jolt during Congress rule due to the falling Rupee, forex imbalance and the lack of FDI inflows to India.

Noting that India had high reserves of petroleum, gas, gold, diamonds and coal, Gadkari said these were not being mined due to hurdles created by the environment ministry.

"Rampant loot in the name of (Congress President) Sonia Gandhi is on in the government," he alleged.