Remarks inciting violence often used against PM Modi: BJP

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Thursday accused the Opposition of often using remarks, which incite violence, against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said words like 'maut' and 'hinsa' should not be used in speeches to target political rivals.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Opposition should maintain decorum and seriousness in its political discourse as the use of such inciteful words have a psychological impact in society, promoting violence and raising unnecessary tensions.

"The choice of words is very important in public life. The kind of comments used by the Opposition for PM Modi is a matter of grave concern," he said.

The minister and BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi cited a write-up of a former IPS officer to highlight that rhetoric used for short-term political benefits at times incites violence.

Trivedi referred to the killing of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump to make the point.

Targeting the Congress, Trivedi said its leader Rahul Gandhi used words like violence and murder in Parliament and had rationalised as throwing of some article at Modi's convoy during the poll campaign as an evidence of people's fear of the prime minister ending.

Modi's security was endangered in Punjab when the Congress ruled the state, he said, contrasting this with the security provided to Rahul Gandhi in sensitive places like Kashmir and Manipur.

Someone who spoke of cutting Modi into pieces is a Congress MP now, and it was the Congress leader Sonia Gandhi who had used "maut ka saudagar" barb against him in 2007 when he was chief minister of Gujarat, Trivedi said.

The BJP never wished death to the then prime minister Indira Gandhi even after she imposed Emergency, he said.

Trivedi said Gandhi, as the Leader of Opposition, should show maturity in his speeches, and anyone not doing so is not fit for politics.

In this context, Trivedi referred to the Ishrat Jahan case, saying the CBI, which reports to the central government, changed its first affidavit that called her a terrorist for political reasons as she was targeting Modi. She along with her accomplishes were killed in an encounter in 2004 by the Gujarat police. The Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre at that time.

The Congress has often supported separatists and terrorists but it is now speaking their language as well, he alleged.