Unable to digest moral defeat, BJP back to communal politics: Gogoi

Congress's Lok Sabha deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi on Saturday alleged that the BJP was resorting to its "old brand of communal politics", as it was "unable to digest the moral defeat" in the parliamentary elections.

He claimed that this was being manifested in instances such as the order in Uttar Pradesh to owners of eateries to display their names during the Kanwar Yatra, and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma targeting a specific community over population figures.

"The BJP has not been able to digest the moral defeat it suffered in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, that is why in every state, it is back to its old brand of communal politics," Gogoi said.

He cited the instances of the Uttar Pradesh government asking owners of eateries along the route of Kanwar Yatra to display their names and in Assam, the "politics over the population of a specific community".

Sarma had on Friday claimed that the decadal growth of Muslims in Assam was around 30 per cent and they would become a majority by 2041, with Muslims already forming 40 per cent of the state's population "as per statistical sampling".

In Uttar Pradesh, Muzaffarnagar Police has asked all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the owner's name, claiming that its advisory was aimed at avoiding any "confusion".

The order, to be in force for the duration of the yatra, has been slammed by Opposition parties and some members of the ruling alliance, who say it targets Muslim traders.

Hitting out at the UP order, Gogoi said, "What type of society are they (BJP) trying to form? Will we decide which shop we will go into on the basis of the owner's name?"

Pointing out that a person's caste, religion and tribe can be deduced from his or her name in India, the Congress MP said, "The BJP wants to form a society where caste, religion, tribe of the owner will determine who goes there and who doesn't. Will there be peace and harmony in such a society?"

Gogoi, who represents Assam's Jorhat constituency in the Lower House of Parliament, claimed that the public have "rejected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's politics of mangalsutra" in the elections.

"The issues raised by PM Modi during the election, be it population of a specific community, mangalsutra, Congress manifesto... people have rejected those. In the same way, the country will not tolerate communal politics of the BJP, be it in UP or Assam," he added.