Bengaluru: The BJP government in the Centre did not ban the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) so as to divide votes, Congress leader in Karnataka Siddaramaiah alleged on Sunday.
The former Karnataka chief minister said that the Centre banned the Popular Front of India but spared its political wing, SDPI, to ensure votes get divided, IANS reported.
Addressing the 'Prajadhwani Yatra' of the Congress in Udupi, the Leader of Opposition in the state likened PFI to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the SDPI to the BJP.
He rejected the allegations by the BJP that when his Congress government was on the throne in the state, it released PFI or SDPI activists involved in criminal activities or communal violence from jail.
Stating that Congress is the only secular party in India, he said that Nathuram Godse, Gandhi's assassin, was the first terrorist here. He also added that Congress stalwarts Indira Gandhi and Rajeev Gandhi were also victims of terrorism.
He then said that the RSS and the BJP never believed in Constitution but promoted Hindutva.
"None of the RSS or the present BJP leaders participated in the freedom struggle," he asserted.
He cautioned the youth in the coastal districts of Karnataka from falling prey to communal designs projected by the BJP and the RSS. Hindus believed in humanity, whereas Hindutva opposed it. VT Savarkar found Hindutva and RSS, along with BJP, revered Godse and Savarkar, he stated.