West Bengal BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday said there is no need for the “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” slogan coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the saffron party should end its minority wing.
“We will save Hindus and we will save the Constitution.! have spoken about nationalist Muslims and you all said ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. But I will say it no more. Rather we will now say ‘jo hamare saath hum unke saath’. Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas bandh karo. (We are with those who are with us. Let’s put an end to ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’),” the Nandigram MLA said at the state BJP’s first working committee meeting after the Lok Sabha polls, in Kolkata.
“There is no need for a minority morcha (for the BJP),” he added.
The meeting was attended by various senior BJP leaders from the eastern state, including Union minister and party’s state chief Sukanta Majumdar and former MP Dilip Ghosh. Union Power Minister and former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was also present on the occasion.
Before his first term, Narendra Modi himself had given the slogan “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”, showing an inclusive twist, even though the BJP did not field any Muslim candidate nor did it have any ministers from India’s largest minority community.
Later, when his remarks sparked a controversy, Adhikari clarified his statements on “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”, Suvendu Adhikari stressed on the importance of national integration and said his statement was taken “out of context”.
Adhikari expressed his alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas’ and criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as divisive politics.
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