Congress leaders 'indirectly supporting PFI' by demanding ban on RSS: Joshi

Accusing Siddaramaiah, the Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Legislative Assembly, of still having “a lot of love” towards Popular Front of India (PFI) and appeasement politics, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Thursday that the Congress leader is indirectly supporting the PFI by demanding a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Congress leaders are not able to directly oppose the ban on PFI, as people are against that and there is evidence against the outfit, he said, adding: “If the ban on PFI is opposed, people will teach a befitting lesson to them. Therefore, Congress leaders are trying to drag the RSS into this issue.”

The Congress government banned the RSS three times, but no proof was available, he said. “We are all from the RSS, and even the prime minister is also from the RSS background,” Joshi exclaimed.

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Joshi claimed that cases against over 1,000 PFI workers were withdrawn when Siddaramaiah was Karnataka chief minister. “We do not play vote bank politics, and we are not saying all members of the minority community are bad. But stern action would be taken against those involved in anti-national activities,” Joshi said.

In reply to Congress leaders’ allegation that the Bharatiya Janata Party was using Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) to divide votes, Joshi said: “We are not like the Congress which prefers political advantage over national security.”

“SDPI calls itself a political organisation and there are different procedures to deal with such an organisation,” he added.

Commenting about the election for the new Congress president, Joshi accused Rahul Gandhi of wanting to have “remote control” to the party chief. “It will be like the Manmohan Singh government which was remotely controlled by Sonia Gandhi,” he said.

Also read | BSY slams Siddaramaiah for seeking ban on RSS

On coal consumption

Joshi also talked about the non-renewable energy and emission issues. Admitting that the use of coal for electricity generation must be reduced to bring down emission, Joshi, who also holds coal and mines portfolio, stated that although there won’t be a complete alternative to coal till 2050, “steps are being taken to reduce the emission through sustainable use of coal.”

According to Joshi, India’s greenhouse emission was much less when compared to other countries. “Electricity requirement is expected to double by 2040. Even if 50 per cent of electricity is generated by renewable sources, thermal power would still be needed,” he noted.