SHILLONG: BJP senior leader Nalin Kohli reiterated that the party was not communal as claimed by its rivals and that there was no politics involved in his meeting with religious leaders in the city on Saturday.
The BJP spokesperson and in charge of Meghalaya vehemently denied its anti-minority tag saying those spreading the rumours are following the “agenda of fear”.
“BJP believes only in the Constitution,” he asserted when asked whether Saturday’s meeting with religious leaders was a move to allay fears that the saffron party is a communal force.
Denying any political motive behind the meet, he explained that it was a platform to exchange views and discuss misconceptions.
“This is an outreach with those who are respected in Meghalaya and we, as a party – that is at the Centre, that is also in government in 18 states, that is present and has been in the government in Meghalaya and are working to be in the government in Meghalaya – need to meet everybody,” Kohli said.
“It is not a political meeting in anyway. We respect all religions and in that context, we respect the Church. This is an opportunity for us to meet, exchange ideas freely without any via media directly. It is not by any standards political at all. It (the meeting) was enlightening and very nice, it was very free and frank,” he added.
The BJP leader said he always wanted to meet representatives from various segments of society and “this is just the beginning”.
“The Church as an institution is not political. It has nothing to do with politics. It won’t have anything to do with politics,” he added.
Earlier too, Kohli had rejected claims of BJP being communal saying it believed in inclusiveness and development.
“A lot of our political rivals would like to spread confusion that we are a communal party. Under the government of Narendra Modiji, not one act is discriminatory against anyone. The government is for everybody, every Indian citizen. Anyone’s personal belief or religion is his or her personal faith as the Constitution runs. The state has no religion,” he said.
