BJP doesn't want to come to power in Delhi riding on hatred: Rajnath

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said the BJP did not wish to come to power in Delhi riding on hatred and such a victory would be unacceptable to the party.

Addressing a rally in Adarsh Nagar, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also sought to assuage the concerns of Muslims over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and said bona fide citizens would remain unaffected under the new law.

"We do not want a victory that has been achieved because of hatred. Even if we win, we will not accept such a victory," he said.

Hitting out at the Opposition, Singh said there were some staging protests at Shaheen Bagh and instigating fear that Muslims will be stripped of their citizenship.

The BJP has been aggressively raising the pitch on Shaheen Bagh, an anti-CAA protest site in south Delhi.

Singh said Muslims should not suspect the government's integrity.

"I do not know whether you will vote for us or not, but I request you not to suspect our integrity. As the defence minister of this country, I assure you that every Muslim is a citizen of this country. Forget questioning his citizenship, I assure you that no one can even touch a Muslim citizen of this country," he added.

Singh said if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP had any malice, the government would not have come up with the "sabka sath sabka vikas" slogan.

He also accused the Opposition of playing the politics of hatred.

The 70-member Delhi Assembly will go to polls on February 8 and the results will be announced on February 11.