Pankaj Chaudhary Targets Congress and INDIA Bloc Over Appeasement

UP BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary has accused Congress and the INDIA bloc of pursuing appeasement politics, criticizing Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Imran Masood for their recent remarks and political stances on sensitive religious issues.

BJP Targets Congress Over Appeasement Claims

Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Pankaj Chaudhary on Wednesday accused the Congress and the INDIA alliance of pursuing appeasement politics, targeting Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Uttar Pradesh Congress executive president Imran Masood over their alleged remarks and positions on religious issues.

In a post on X, Chaudhary criticised Sonia Gandhi over what he described as her response to incidents involving Sikhs and Hindus, while accusing her of showing sympathy towards the accused in the Batla House encounter and the Babri structure. “From the Sikh genocide to the Hindu genocide in Kashmir, Sonia ji remained dry-eyed. But for the Batla House terrorists and the Babri structure, Sonia wept buckets of appeasement tears. Under this very guidance of appeasement, the INDIA alliance is making history by declining,” he wrote.

Dispute Over Diwali Remarks

Chaudhary also targeted Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Uttar Pradesh Congress executive president Imran Masood over their alleged remarks concerning Diwali. “Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge ji is ashamed to call Diwali Diwali. UP Congress executive president Imran Masood is calling Hindus’ festival Diwali a swear word and calling it a disease,” he said.

Accusing the Congress and the INDIA alliance of being weakened by what he termed appeasement politics, Chaudhary concluded, “The truth is that it is this very disease of appeasement that has put Congress and the INDIA alliance on a ventilator in the ICU.”

Context of the Controversy

Earlier, in the memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, Sonia Gandhi recalled breaking down in tears while watching the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, on television. She described the demolition as a defining and tragic moment that signalled the rise of a divisive political agenda, making her realise that preserving India's secular character would require a long struggle. She also acknowledged that Congress's complacency had partly contributed to the political shifts of that era.

Meanwhile, While extending Diwali greetings to reporters, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge referred to the festival as "khushiyon ka Eid" (an Eid of happiness), urging national unity and peace. The Bharatiya Janata Party strongly criticised Kharge, accusing him and the Congress party of anti-Sanatan/anti-Hindu sentiments and vote-bank appeasement politics. Congress leaders defended the remarks by stating that "Eid" linguistically or colloquially translates to "festival" (tyohar) and that Kharge used the term to convey universal joy and secular harmony.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)