Tried to 'save' those ...': PM Modi rakes up Godhra train arson to accuse oppositon of appeasement

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday brought up the 2002 Godhra train arson incident and accused RJD president Lalu Prasad of attempting to protect those responsible for the death of over 60 kar sevaks during the tenure of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
While addressing a rally at Darbhanga in Bihar, PM Modi attributed this to the opposition parties' practice of "appeasement politics".
“It is because of this appeasement politics that the father of Bihar's 'shehzada' (allusion to Tejashwi Yadav) had tried to save those who were responsible for the Godhra train burning incident”, said Modi, adding “after all, it was the rule of Sonia madam”, referring to the UPA chairperson who was also the president of the ruling Congress.
Modi further alleged that Lalu Prasad, who was the Railway minister at the time and has since been convicted in fodder scam cases, set up an inquiry committee that produced a report exonerating the perpetrators of the crime.
“He (Lalu Prasad), who has himself been convicted (in fodder scam cases), was then the Railway minister. He set up an inquiry committee and got a report made which exonerated those guilty of the horrendous crime. But the court threw the report away”, PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister also claimed that the opposition parties, collectively known as the INDIA bloc, are attempting to divert reservations meant for SCs, STs, and tribals to Muslims.
“The INDIA bloc is trying to divert reservations to Muslims. They are going against the views of Babasaheb Ambedkar and first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, neither of whom was in favour of reservations on religious lines”, PM Modi claimed.
PM Modi criticized Tejashwi Yadav for bringing up the "Hindu Muslim narrative" when discussing the Agnipath scheme, stating, "when we talk about the martyrdom of Captain Hameed, do we think of him as a Muslim?" He also referred to Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav as "shehzadas" (princes) in Delhi and Patna, respectively, who consider the country their fiefdom.
PM Modi accused them of questioning the surgical strikes and speaking ill of the armed forces, thus exposing their mindset.
(With agency inputs)