"Nafrat ke bazaar mai mohabbat ki dukaan kholni hai": Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi slams Naidu for BJP support, calls for unity

Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) [India], April 13 (ANI): Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi on Sunday criticised Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu for aligning with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), terming it a betrayal of the people of the State.
Speaking to ANI during a national meeting on communal harmony held in Vijayawada, Pratapgarhi said Naidu's recent political stance contradicts his past positions on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu betrayed the people and supported the BJP, and the people of Andhra Pradesh did not expect this," Pratapgarhi said.
"I think in the future Chandrababu Naidu will have to answer how he forgot so soon what he used to say about Prime Minister Narendra Modi in INDIA alliance meetings or from political platforms," he added.
Pratapgarhi, who has been vocal about promoting communal harmony through his public engagements, reiterated the Congress party's focus on unity.
"We will work for love. Nafrat ke bazaar mai mohabbat ki dukaan kholni hai (Want to open a shop of love in the market of hatred)," he said.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Sunday strongly criticised the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government, blaming it for the recent violence in Murshidabad linked to protests over the new Waqf law. He also accused the State of indulging in vote-bank appeasement and remaining silent while the Hindu community faced targeted attacks.
"The conditions being created for the appeasement of votes under the Mamata Banerjee government are both unfortunate and condemnable," Shekhawat said.
He further accused the government of remaining "silent just for votes" when the Hindu majority has been "tortured" in recent times.
"In recent times, especially on the occasion of Ram Navami and continuously ever since, the Hindu majority has been tortured and left to burn, temples are being vandalised and women are being molested, and still the state government is silent just for votes, which reminds us of the times of Bengal Partition," Shekhawat said
Expressing optimism about political change in the state, he said, "I believe the conscience created will set Bengal free of these incidents with the upcoming elections, and the BJP government will be formed in West Bengal."
Violence erupted in West Bengal's Murshidabad district and Jangipur during protests against the Waqf Amendment Act, with clashes between demonstrators and police resulting in stone-pelting and torched police vehicles.
Three people were killed on Friday night during the unrest, according to the West Bengal Police.
After the Calcutta High Court order, BSF has deployed five companies to support state police operations, IG South Bengal Frontier Karni Singh Shekhawat said on Saturday.
So far, the West Bengal Police have arrested 150 people in connection with the violence. (ANI)