Did Modi dig BJP’s grave by his kabristan, shamshaan remark in UP polls?

Will PM Narendra Modi's 'graveyard' remark prove costly for the BJP in poll-bound UP?

Lucknow, Feb 21: As the ongoing assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh have touched the halfway mark, campaigning tone has turned communal and profane. Be it the ruling Samajwadi Party or the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in the state, the language used by leaders of all parties have suddenly turned vitriolic.

In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also could not stop himself from giving the elections a 'communal tinge' by his kabristan and shamshaan remark in a poll rally at Fatehpur, UP, on Sunday.

"If a graveyard is built in a village, so should there be a cremation ground. If there is electricity in Ramzan, it should also be there on Diwali; there should be no discrimination," the PM said at the rally.

An 'angry' Congress accused the Prime Minister of dividing the voters on communal lines. The BJP in its defence said the Congress and the SP have been indulging in the most perverse form of secularism by being partial towards the Hindus.

Poll pundits say Modi's kabristan and shamshaan remark might prove costly for the BJP. Experts cite the example of Bihar Assembly elections 2015, when the BJP was accused of polarising the voters on communal lines. During the Bihar polls, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat suggested of doing away with reservations.

Moreover, BJP President Amit Shah's comment that if the party loses Bihar Assembly elections, firecrackers would be burst in Pakistan was also seen as communalising the poll process.

"The drubbing in Bihar elections should be a lesson for the BJP. The voters are not interested in celebrating their religion and caste. They want development. It is surprising to see the same mistakes of Bihar are being repeated by the BJP in UP," said a political analyst.

Another political scientist says that the BJP is feeling the pressure because of the winning alliance between the Congress and the SP. "The BJP knows it well that the people of UP are going to vote against PM Modi because of demonetisation. Thus the BJP is trying to garner votes on the religious lines," he added.

OneIndia News