Pune, Nov 16 (PTI) Union minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said the Congress is in such a bad shape that anyone associated with it is bound to "drown", and the same would be the fate of its allies in Maharashtra.
Speaking at a campaign rally here, Singh expressed confidence that as in Haryana, victory of the BJP and Mahayuti coalition was certain in the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.
"Congress ruled the country for a long time, but now its condition has become so precarious that anyone associated with it is bound to drown....In Maharashtra, Congress has piggy-backed on the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), and their drowning is certain," said the senior BJP leader, campaigning for his party's Shivajinagar constituency candidate Siddharth Shirole.
The Congress is no longer able to stand on its own feet, he added.
"The (Lok Sabha) poll results were not as per our expectations in some states which included Maharashtra, Haryana and some three to five states. But in Haryana state elections, people reposed their faith in the BJP and we formed a government with a clear majority there. Now a similar situation will be repeated in Maharashtra," Singh said.
The country's stature was elevated at the global stage under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, adding that more than 25 crore Indians were brought out of poverty during this period.
The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government in Maharashtra has done remarkable work in the last two-and-half years, Singh said, listing various welfare schemes introduced by it.
He also alleged the Congress did not accord due respect and give credit to Dr B R Ambedkar.
Addressing a rally in Pune cantonment, he said Rahul Gandhi was selling items of hatred in his "mohabbat ki dukaan" and urged people to "neither be divided nor create division".
"Congress has committed grave crimes that will not be forgiven by the people. It tried to divide the country on the basis of caste and religion. I want to the tell the Congress that politics must be for building a nation rather than just attaining power," Singh said.
"You (Congress) have claimed you will carry out caste census once in power. The census carried out in 2011 has not been published. You are saying you will give reservation to communities. How much reservation are you going to give," he questioned.
Gandhi and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge must come up with a blueprint on how they want to hold the caste census and tell people how much reservation will be given to each community, Singh said.
If the people agree to this blueprint, then the BJP has no objection, he added.
"These people want to form government by dividing the country on the basis of Hindu, Muslim, Christian etc. I would like to tell these people that the governments will come and go but this country needs to remain alive," Singh said.
Singh said he has got information that the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi had agreed to several demands of the Ulema Council, including quota for Muslims.
"The Constitution of India does not allow reservation on the basis of religion. We believe in doing politics of justice and humanity politics. These people want to divide this country. Those who talk of caste census are trying to divide the country," he claimed.
Singh said he is pained to see Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray compromising on the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray.