B K Singh
Calling for vote jehad and use of this word has drawn sharp criticism and concern among right thinking persons, intellectuals and journalists.
Senior Journalist Ratibhan Tripathi has cautioned political parties to be careful in what they say.
The call for vote jehad given from a platform in the presence of senior Congress leader Salman Khursheed is serious and such words would only spread more hatred and drive further wedge between hindus and muslims.
Congress, Samajwadi Party and others in the opposition had been accusing BJP of playing Hindu Muslim card, but what they ( opposition) have started is even more unhealthy and dangerous as it would only contribute to polarisation of votes and make things worse in our society, he opined.
Instead of talking about how to make education better for the future of our children, making health sector easily accessable for the common man, providing and opening more avenues for employment, removing poverty and unemployment, skyrocketing prices, internal and external security, bringing down petrol prices and all round development, they are talking about vote jehad, he lamented.
It shatters us when we think where these leaders are trying to take our nation.
Earlier, it was love jehad and land jehad and now they have coined vote jehad.
Will jehad bring development in this country asks a senior retired bureaucrat Rajeev Lochan Pandey.
Look at countries talking about jehad. They are neck deep in poverty, people are suffering. They even find it difficult to provide daily meals to their families.
Development in these countries has come to a grinding halt. They have no money to run the government and departments and are somehow trying to save face by borrowing money from other countries and increasing their debt.
It is widely being felt that India is on the road to development but ‘jehad’ and division of society on communal lines would stagnate our growth, adds Ratibhan.