'Rahul Gandhi has no fire, but Congress is playing with fire': Rajnath Singh

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday criticised the Congress party for trying to sow discord between Hindu and Muslim communities for political advantage, stating that they are "playing with fire." However, he said that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi "has no fire" in him.

"They are attempting to create a Hindu-Muslim divide for electoral gains. The Congress is trying to create tensions on religious lines," the Union Minister told PTI news agency during an interview.

"The Congress wants to disturb social harmony. They look at the Muslim community only as a vote bank. I have a suggestion for them -- politics should not be done only for forming governments. The aim of politics should be for nation building," he said.

"Rahul Gandhi has no fire, but Congress is playing with fire.

 

Rajnath Singh also stated that the Congress aims to instill fear and exploit the Hindu-Muslim divide for political purposes.

"They do not have any issue. They want to form a government by dividing society in the name of caste, creed and religion and they have always done it."

 

He criticized the party's proposal to introduce an "inheritance tax" if it assumes power, warning that it could lead to an economic downturn in the country.

"Argentina and Venezuela implemented it and faced disastrous consequences. The investors will lose confidence in India," Singh said.

 

Rajnath Singh expressed confidence that the BJP would secure 370 seats, and the party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would surpass the 400-seat mark in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. He emphasized that these projections were based on a thorough assessment of the ground situation, not just for public consumption.

The Union Minister said, "Our seats will increase in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, and we will get some seats in Tamil Nadu. Our account will open in Kerala as well. We are winning a good number of seats in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana."

"We will increase our tally in Odisha, Jharkhand and Assam. We are sweeping Chhattisgarh," he added.

Regarding the BJP's election promises, including the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and 'One Nation, One Election', the Union Defence Minister affirmed, "We always deliver on our promises."

"We will never allow any question mark on our credibility and won't compromise on the country's unity and integrity. We implement whatever we say in our manifesto. We have to do whatever we say," Singh said.