Congress leader retaliates BJP attacks, asks about tribal activist Father Stan Swamy

|HT|

Embroiled in a controversy over his comment on NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, Congress leader Ajoy Kumar launched an attack on BJP's Amit Malviya and Smriti Irani and asked what the BJP did to tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy. "Now BJP is thinking about adivasis but what it did to Father Stand Swamy is not a secret. The whole country knows the BJP's Dalit and anti-trial policies," the Congress leader who earlier commented that Droupadi Murmu represents a "very evil philosophy of India' said. Calling Amit Malviya the CEO of 'doctored video', Ajoy Kumar said that the video shared by Malviya misrepresented what he actually said. "I have always said Murmu is a good woman," the Congress leader who spent the day firefighting on social media and television channels following his remark said. "It's not about Droupadi Murmu. Yashwant Sinha is also a good candidate and Murmu is also a decent person. But she represents a very evil philosophy of India. We should not make her a symbol of 'adivasi'. We have President Ram Nath Kovind (and) Hathras (the gangrape and murder of a young Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh) happened. Has he said a word? The condition of scheduled castes has become worse," the Congress leader originally said. "I have always worked for the adivasis, the oppressed and the downtrodden. BJP and IT cell cannot change the truth by tinkering my statement," he tweeted.

Demanding action against Amit Malviya, the Congress leader said while he always maintained that Droupadi Murmu is a good person, the RSS-BJP is a "poisonous philosophy". "Why BJP opposed the candidature of KR Narayanan. Are you anti-SC by this logic?" he tweeted. Amit Malviya said BJP backed both KR Narayanan and PA Sangma. "After disparaging comments on Smt Draupadi Murmu, Congress’s Ajoy Kumar, on a TV show, made factually incorrect claims about BJP opposing presidential bid of KR Narayanan (Dalit) and PA Sangma (Tribal). Fact is BJP backed both Narayanan and Sangma. Former was elected unopposed," Malviya tweeted.

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