Parties associated with Cong should come clean on SDPI issue: BJP

Trivedi alleged that on a number of occasions, Congress' tacit understanding with SDPI has been exposed by SDPI leaders

BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi on Saturday sought clarification from all those parties, associating with Congress now or in future, to clarify their stand on the party’s alleged relationship with the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of the banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI).

Addressing a press conference here, Trivedi alleged that on a number of occasions, Congress' tacit understanding with SDPI has been exposed by none other than SDPI leaders Abdul Majeed and Mohammad Ilyas. This has also been endorsed by Congress leaders, like Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar, he charged.

Read | Come clean on SDPI, BJP demands Congress

Citing a news report, Trivedi claimed that various members of PFI are now working in SDPI and also sought to know if Congress and those associating with it must come clean on the 'behind-the-scenes agreement (of the Congress with SDPI'.

Taking a dig at Bharat Jodo Yatra taken out by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Trivedi quipped, “You (Gandhi) talk about the Bharat Jodo Yatra, and used to say that I am decorating the shop of love. Which shop of love are you decorating by compromising with hatred?"

Reiterating that the previous Congress government had withdrawn 1,700 cases registered against PFI and SDPI workers citing lack of evidence, the BJP leader alleged that it ignored Hampi Utsav and showed interest in Tipu Jayanti celebrations. “The PFI and SDPI encouraged the protests against the Citizenship Act. These same organisations had also created the hijab controversy,” he noted.