Senior Congress leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi hits out at BJP and Sangh Pariwar over 'love jihad' issue

Senior Congress leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi today hit out at the BJP and Sangh Pariwar for raking up issues like 'Hindu Rashtra' and 'love jihad', alleging that it was being done to "divert" people's attention from its failure in living up to the promises made during the Lok Sabha polls.

"This is the double game of the BJP and Sangh Pariwar, while one talks about 'Hindu Rashtra', the other talks about 'love jihad' and although the people had given a befitting reply in the recent assembly bypolls, they will continue to do so to divert people's attention, as they know that they cannot fulfil the promises made in the Lok Sabha polls", Joshi told reporters here.

The issue is being raked up once again as "polarisation" is part of their agenda, Joshi alleged.

The former UPCC president also took strong exception to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's reported utterances against Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Meanwhile Congress workers burnt the effigy of BJP and Swamy before the UPCC headquarters this evening against his utterances against Sonia Gandhi at a programme of students in Lucknow yesterday.