Published 15:29 IST, October 9th 2019
BJP leader Sambit Patra slams Alka Lamba for mocking 'Shastra Puja'
BJP spokesperson hit back at Alka Lamba for mocking Rajnath Singh, stating that such people have a skewed mindset and everything shouldn't be communalised
After Congress leader Alka Lamba mocked the Shastra Puja performed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the new Rafael aircraft, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra hit back while stating that such people have skewed mindset and everything shouldn't be communalised.
"As far as Rafale is concerned, we would like to congratulate the government. It was a long pending issue. Thankfully Mr. Modi has brought the solution to the depleting squadron strength of the Indian airforce. We received the first Rafale yesterday. Well yes, as far as the traditional Puja is concerned, that's a traditional ritual performed not for the first time. Before procurement of such instruments yesteryears also we have seen the similar traditions followed. Everything shouldn't be communalised. It's astonishing that we have some people who are sulking instead of celebrating that now India has a deterrent to Pakistan and inimical forces in the form of Rafale," Sambit Patra said.
"It was Vijaya Dashami, a day that suggests how the Dharma, the righteousness, wins over evil; India is a righteous country fighting against the evil forces like terrorism," he added.
When Lamba mocked Rajnath Singh
Former AAP leader Alka Lamba, who recently joined Congress, attacked the government for performing Shastra Puja of Rafale. "Today, if former Defense Minister A.K Antony would have been the Minister of Defense or former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam had got this fortune today, would he have taken the Bible and the Quran in his hands and would have done the same according to his religion, which the Defense Minister has done according to his religion? What would have happened?" Lamba wrote on Twitter.
Not only BJP but its ally in Bihar, JD(U), also said that there should be no attempt to communalise the ritual. While speaking to Republic TV, senior leader of JD(U) Pawan Verma said, "In my view, tradition and modernity co-exist in India and certain rituals are performed which do not have a religious connotation but which are sanctioned by practice; therefore, the performance of Shashtra Puja is not a Hindu act but the practice of long-established tradition and there should be no attempt to communalise this. I am not saying that the ritual of this nature is mandatory but the fact that the ritual which has been performed shouldn't be seen exclusively with a religious context."
Updated 16:19 IST, October 9th 2019