New Delhi : In a statement today, Home Minister Amit Shah urged the BJP not to unleash violence against rivals, but rather to fight and win elections across the country using its ideology, programs, leadership popularity and performance as a government.
Mr Shah said the BJP wants to form government everywhere, which is why it fights elections, in response to a debate in Lok Sabha over the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
"Why did you go to Goa, why are you going to Tripura. You have the right to go, I don't say don't go, every party must go with their ideology, programmes, performance to all places, this is the beauty of democracy," the statement appears to be a response to a comment made by TMC MP Saugata Roy.
Only those who are afraid of losing power can have an objection to it, not the proponents of democracy, he said.
"I want to say that on the basis of our programmes, ideology, the popularity of leadership and the performance of our government, we want to fight polls and win everywhere. But we don't want to grab power by killing workers of rival parties, carrying out a series of murders, by raping wives and daughters of (rival) party workers. This is not our culture," Mr Shah said
He also attacked the Congress and Trinamool for being family-run parties and not conducting internal elections.
"First hold polls in your party, then talk about country," Mr Shah added.