BJP rakes up communal issues because it thinks people don't vote for development works: Rai

Mangaluru, May 2: Former minister B Ramanath Rai today said that BJP rakes up communal issues ahead of polls because it thinks that people do not vote for development works.

“The BJP which is raking emotional issues on caste, religion, patriotism will repent for its activities in the future,” he told media persons in Mangaluru.

“There is a wrong notion among the BJP that people no longer vote for development works and are engaged in raking up emotional issues to seek votes,” he said. After the church attacks, the Congress won seven seats in Dakshina Kannada, he recalled.

“The BJP has failed to respond to the woes of the people, which the people have understood in the last few years. They will teach lessons to those who disrupt peace in the upcoming election,” he said.

Coming down heavily on BJP state President Nalin Kumar Kateel’s claim that Congress was responsible for riots, Rai asked the leader to prove it by furnishing evidence. "None of the Congress activist's names figures in FIRs related to murders in the state. The Congress leaders are not involved in delivering provocative speeches," he said.