Digvijay Singh assails campaign against ‘triple talaq’

Tirupati: Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh today assailed Narendra Modi for denouncing the practice of ‘triple talaq’ among Muslims, saying instead of raising such issues, the prime minister should focus on his slogan of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. ‘Triple talaq’ was related to a particular religion and it should be left to that religion. The Centre should not take any decision on it without a consensus, he told reporters here. The prime minister should remember his slogan of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ and focus on it, the Congress general secretary said. Singh, who earlier offered his prayers at the famous Lord Venkateswara temple here, also accused the Modi government of “politicising the army’s surgical strikes” across the LoC. He said even during the UPA regime, surgical strikes were carried out, but they were never “utilised for political mileage”. Slamming both the ruling TDP in Andhra Pradesh and the NDA government at the Centre, he alleged that they had “fooled” the people of the state on the issue of ‘Special Category’ status after the birth of Telangana. Before the 2014 general election, the BJP had promised a 10-year ‘Special Category’ status to Andhra Pradesh if they won, but after coming to power, they only offered some incentives in the name of special package and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu too compromised on the matter, he charged. Singh also questioned Naidu’s decision to involve foreign agencies in building the new capital city of Amaravati. Later, speaking to reporters at another place, the Congress leader said farmers were facing an “extremely bad” situation in Uttar Pradesh due to a mounting loan burden and the absence of a minimum support price for their produces. Alleging “total misgovernance” by the Samajwadi Party government led by Akhilesh Yadav in that state, he claimed that people wanted a change in the upcoming Assembly polls. Replying to a query on the Congress’ prospects in the Uttar Pradesh polls due early next year, Singh said the party was “aiming to capture power”. “We are making an all-out effort in the campaign led by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi who is overseeing the entire election propaganda of the party. Like every political party, we are pinning our hopes on forming the government in Uttar Pradesh,” he said. PTI