India News | Communalism is 'disease', 'poison of Casteism' Polluting Society: Cong's Janardan Dwivedi
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi on Monday said while communalism was a "disease", the "poison of casteism" was polluting society, and asserted that they should not be used for personal gains.
New Delhi, Dec 4 (PTI) Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi on Monday said while communalism was a "disease", the "poison of casteism" was polluting society, and asserted that they should not be used for personal gains.
Speaking at the launch of the book 'Jawahar' on the life of freedom fighter Jawaharlal Darda, Dwivedi said it was important to end the ills of communalism and casteism to cleanse the political environment of the country.
"I believe that communalism is a disease but along with that the poison of catiesm that the entire society is being polluted with, is also a big blemish. We have to treat both at par. We need to be weary of both the things and need to free ourselves from both," the Congress leader said.
"I don't want to use harsh words but taking their help for personal gains (should not be done)...Until this is ended, I don't think our political environment will be cleansed and remembering freedom fighters in the true sense is also in this," said Dwivedi.
His remarks come at a time when there is a strong push by the Congress for a caste census, stating that this would allow policies to be framed for upliftment of the backward classes.
Former Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad recalled that the past generation of politicians always set aside their differences to help each other and extend courtesies in times of need.
He said this virtue had been lost in the present times and there was a need to revive that culture among politicians even if their views were opposed to each other.
Chairman of Lokmat Media Group Vijay Darda recalled how his father Jawaharlal Darda had once arranged cars for BJP's Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had come to campaign against Darda.
Jawaharlal Darda was a freedom fighter, former Maharashtra minister and founding editor of the Lokmat group.
Union ministers Ramdas Athawale and S P S Baghel, Jain leader Lokesh Muni and BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde, BSP MP Danish Ali and TMC MP Saugata Roy, among others, attended the event.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)