Ponnam condemns Bandi Sanjay’s ‘communal remarks’ ahead of council elections

Telangana Minister condemns BJP for religious threats, urges Election Commission to take action against communal statements.

Telangana Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said that the Congress party would file a complaint with the Election Commission against the BJP for threatening voters to vote on religious identity and terming those abstaining as not Hindus. He wanted the Election Commission to take note of the ‘communal’ statements.

Strongly condemning Union Minister and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay urging Hindutva supporters to vote for the BJP in the upcoming Hyderabad Local Authorities Constituency (LAC) elections for the Legislative Council irrespective of their party affiliation, Mr. Prabhakar termed the statement a blatant attempt to communalise the polls.

Mr. Prabhakar alleged that Mr. Sanjay repeatedly said, “If you don’t vote for BJP, you are not a Hindu,” and termed it inflammatory and a violation of the Code of Conduct. “If people don’t vote for the BJP, are they not Hindus?” Mr. Prabhakar asked and advised that elections should be fought on issues and ideology, not on religious provocations. He found fault with the BJP putting up provocative banners at the residences of corporators.

He said the BJP doesn’t have the numbers but wants to create a Hindutva frenzy by joining the fray. Out of the 112 total votes in these elections, MIM holds a clear majority with 50 votes, followed by BJP and BRS with 24 each, and Congress with 14. “How will the BJP win?” he asked.

Mr. Prabhakar alleged that the BJP and BRS initially intended to contest together, but the BRS backed out after realising it wouldn’t achieve a majority. The Minister also condemned BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s recent controversial remarks about the Constitution and the judiciary and sought his suspension from the party. The BJP’s leaders provoke people on one hand and pretend to defend the institutions on the other, he alleged.

The Congress party has launched the “Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan” programmes precisely to expose this dual nature of the BJP and also reaffirm its commitment to constitutional values. “We believe in democracy. They believe in dictatorship,” he said.