New Delhi [India], February 2 : Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Monday, during the discussion on the 'Motion of Thanks' to the President's Address in the Rajya Sabha, delivered a pointed critique of the Modi Government, stating that the BJP has systematically fractured Indian society by turning communities against one another and deliberately deepening social divisions through its policies.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said, "In the House, the slogan of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas is repeatedly mentioned. The Government and the Prime Minister keep repeating this slogan from various platforms, but what is happening within the country today is extremely disturbing and tells the real story behind this slogan. On the day the entire nation was observing the death anniversary of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, old videos and speeches of Gandhi ji were circulating on social media."
"At the same time, pictures of his killers sitting in court and laughing were also going viral. That was an image from that era in which Nathuram Godse and his associates were present. There was no remorse on their faces, instead they were laughing," pointed out the AAP MP.
According to an official release, Sanjay Singh stated that the ruling side often claims that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had nothing to do with the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and asserted that if this claim were true, the country must resolve to eliminate the ideology that killed Gandhiji.
"If it is true that the RSS had nothing to do with Gandhi ji's assassination, then let all of us together take a pledge to kill that ideology which killed Gandhi. We must eliminate the idea that snatched away our Father of the Nation, the apostle of non-violence, from us. Unfortunately, this is not happening in the country today. Instead, that ideology is being promoted even more," he said.
Referring to rising incidents of religious intolerance, Sanjay Singh cited events in Uttar Pradesh and said, "Recently, a ruckus was created outside a church in Bareilly and Hanuman Chalisa was recited there. A similar incident was repeated in Lucknow, where a church was targeted and Hanuman Chalisa was read outside it. I want to ask whether Bajrangbali ever told anyone to go to a church and recite Hanuman Chalisa. Did Maryada Purushottam Lord Ram ever order that Ramcharitmanas should be recited outside a mosque?"
He added, "If someone wants to recite Hanuman Chalisa, they should go to a Hanuman temple. If one wants to read Ramcharitmanas, they should go to a Ram temple and read it with devotion and seek blessings for themselves and for the country. Under the guise of religion, attempts should not be made to divide the nation. If the nation itself does not survive because of an obsession over temples, mosques and shrines, then what will be left to divide? How long will this religious intoxication be spread? The Government and its affiliated organisations are working to tear apart the social fabric of the country."
Sanjay Singh then referred to an extremely shameful incident in Jabalpur. "Before December 25, Christmas, in Jabalpur, a BJP woman leader forcibly entered a church. She assaulted and misbehaved with a visually impaired woman there. Not only this, she told an innocent young girl sitting there that you come here to get wrong activities done. Is this the kind of society the BJP wants to build? Is this the new India that is being imagined?" he asked.
The AAP MP said such incidents are damaging India's image globally. "Because of these incidents, India's image is getting tarnished across the world. Indians living in Australia, England, America, New Zealand and other countries must be feeling immense embarrassment. When the world sees that people in India are not being allowed to worship, pray or offer prayers according to their faith, then the claim of becoming a Vishwaguru stands exposed. Therefore, the politics of hatred must be ended first," he said.
Sanjay Singh said the Government's hatred-driven politics have become limitless. "First, Hindus were made to fight Muslims, then Hindus were pitted against Sikhs, then Hindus against Christians. Now this division is being spread within Hindus themselves. Jats are being pitted against non-Jats, Marathas against non-Marathas, and Dalits and backward classes against the so-called upper castes," he said.
Raising the issue of a bill related to the University Grants Commission, Sanjay Singh said, "The Government brought a bill on which the Supreme Court imposed a stay. The Supreme Court clearly said that the bill is vague. In the name of forming an equity committee, the Government brought a provision that created an atmosphere of conflict across the country. The BJP has never been a well-wisher of Dalits, backward classes and Adivasis. In the last 100 years, not a single RSS chief has come from a Dalit, backward or Adivasi society. This is their reality."
Placing data related to higher education before the House, he said, "More than 80 per cent of reserved posts for professors and assistant professors for Dalit, backward and Adivasi categories in universities are lying vacant. There are 45 central universities in the country, and in 38 of them, the vice-chancellors belong only to the upper castes. When the appointment of vice-chancellors is in the hands of the Government, why are Dalits and backward classes not getting representation? Does this mean that Dalits, backward classes and Adivasis are not capable of becoming vice-chancellors? Candidates from these sections are often rejected by putting them in the category of 'not found suitable,' which reflects the Government's mindset."
He also raised the issue of representation in the judiciary. "In the Supreme Court and 25 High Courts of the country, the participation of Dalits, backward classes and Adivasis in judicial appointments is negligible. The Government should look at the data, and the truth will come out. Whenever the question of justice for these sections arises, the Government indulges in drama instead of delivering justice and merely pretends to be their well-wisher," he said.
Sanjay Singh said that if the Government's intentions were clean, two committees should have been formed in every university. "One committee should specifically look into caste-based discrimination, and another committee should monitor discrimination based on language, gender or any other grounds. If this had been done, there would have been no dispute. But the Government deliberately created such an atmosphere that conflict spreads in society," he said.
He then raised the issue of the demolition of temples in Varanasi and said, "Recently, I was undertaking a foot march from Mirzapur to Kashi. During that time, incidents of demolition of temples and damage to Manikarnika Ghat came to light. In the name of the Kashi Corridor, the ancient Manikarnika Ghat was damaged, and the statue of Mata Ahilyabai Holkar was broken."
He added, "When I tweeted videos of these incidents, instead of taking action against those who demolished, the Government registered a case against me. Senior BJP leader Sumitra Mahajan herself said that the statue of Mata Ahilyabai Holkar was broken. Uttar Pradesh Minister Ravindra Jaiswal also accepted that Manikarnika Ghat and temples were demolished. Despite this, instead of acting against those responsible, an FIR was registered against the MP who raised his voice. I demand that the Government form a three-member committee from the BJP parliamentary party and send it to Kashi. The committee should show where the statue of Mata Ahilyabai Holkar is safe and prove that Manikarnika Ghat was not demolished."
Sanjay Singh also referred to the incident at the Magh Mela in Prayagraj. "The Prayagraj administration did an extremely condemnable act. Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand ji was going to take a holy dip, but he was stopped by the administration. Police dragged his disciples and young students by their hair and beat them. Shankaracharya ji had only one demand: that the administration should accept its mistake, after which he would take the dip. No one apologised, and ultimately he had to return without bathing," he said.
He further said, "BJP leaders have become such big contractors of religion that they sent a notice through a tehsildar to Shankaracharya ji asking him to prove that he is a Shankaracharya. Those who have not been able to show their own degrees for the last 12 years are asking Shankaracharya ji for proof. By spreading hatred and snatching people's rights, a developed India cannot be built."
On foreign policy, Sanjay Singh said, "Amid claims of the Prime Minister becoming a Vishwaguru, the reality is that Indians were sent back from America to Amritsar in handcuffs and shackles. Former US President Donald Trump claimed that he forced a ceasefire by threatening to cancel trade deals. China is continuously claiming that it will carry out construction, build bridges and tunnels in the Shaksgam Valley. On the very day this statement came from China, representatives of the Chinese Communist Party held a meeting at the BJP office. What exactly is the Government's foreign policy? The Government is silent on the brutal killing of Hindus in Bangladesh."
Questioning judicial independence, Sanjay Singh said, "In Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh, when a judge gave a fair decision, he was immediately transferred. Although judges are transferred by the judiciary, the intention behind it and the pressure of the Government are evident. The Government has targeted Aam Aadmi Party leaders and is sending them to jail one after another. Adivasi leader Chaitar Vasava was arrested and sent to jail three times. AAP MLA Mehraj Malik and social activist Sonam Wangchuk have also been kept in jail."
Concluding his remarks, Sanjay Singh said, "The Government is carrying out a massive electoral scam in the name of SIR. The voter list prepared by the Uttar Pradesh State Election Commission for panchayat and urban elections showed 17 crore voters, while the list under the Central Election Commission showed only 12 crore 55 lakh voters. Where have 4.5 crore voters of Uttar Pradesh disappeared? Through SIR, votes of a particular community and supporters of the Opposition are being cut. Notices are being sent under SIR even to the family of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and former naval officers. This is not SIR, this is a massive electoral scam."