Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Monday said the Opposition party which sheds tears for the "tukde tukde gang" wanted to scrap the sedition law to strengthen the anti-national forces in the country.
Canvassing for Nagpur BJP candidate and Union minister Nitin Gadkari, the chief minister slammed the Congress over its poll manifesto which has promised review of the controversial Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) and repeal of sedition law.
"The Congress manifesto talks about withdrawing the Army from Kashmir and ending the special powers granted to the forces there. Why do you want to remove their special rights? That right is given to the Army to neutralise terrorists and infiltrators, and to jail stone-peltors who work at the behest of Pakistan," he said.
The chief minister also punched holes in the Congress' promise of scrapping sedition law.
"The section 124 A of the IPC is an instrument to jail people committing sedition. If someone says that I will burn the Constitution of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar then that person can be sent to jail for 10 years under the law.
"Similarly, if someone says that he does not like the flag of India and wants to roam around with flags of Pakistan and China then that person could be booked under the section 124A and sent to jail," he said.
Underlining utility of the law, Fadnavis also said that sedition law is used to book terrorists, naxalites and Maoists who wage war against the country.
He further said the Congress was shedding tears for the gang of students which had raised slogans like "Bharat tere tukde honge paachas and Pakistan Zindabad", and were jailed under the sedition law.
"Now the Congress wants to repeal the same law. I want to ask that party have they thought about the impact on morale of the soldiers and police personnel who are guarding our borders and fighting naxals.
"Imagine how ashamed the country will be when relatives of martyrs will ask how did a soldier die, and we would tell them that the Congress has scrapped the sedition law," he said.
He also accused the Congress of forgetting the national interest for the sake of votes.
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