Is Ram only god of Hindus, asks Abdullah at opposition rally in Delhi

Attacking the right-wing, National Conference (NC) leader Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday asked if Lord Ram was a god only of the Hindus, while asserting that people of all religions had an equal right to live in the country with dignity. He said this during his address at a mega rally organised by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at the Jantar Mantar here, during which leaders of various opposition parties tore into Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying the two should be "ousted" in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as they were a "threat" to democracy and constitutional values.

"We cannot remove them with ease unless our own hearts are clean. If we want to save the country, then we need to make sacrifices first...and do it for the nation and not for the 'kursi' (political benefits)," the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said. In his speech, he also made a veiled reference to the harassment faced by certain members of the minority community.

"Today, we are bring divided on religious lines...as Hindus and Muslims...I want to ask the Hindus -- is Ram just your Ram? It is written in holy texts that Ram is the god of the whole world. He is the god of all. We need to forget our fights," Abdullah said. He lamented that the people from the "Muslim community are being told what not to do or where not to visit" and asked," Is this the country of their masters?"

Abdullah was referring to past incidents, where some right-wing groups had told Muslims to go to Pakistan. "People of all faith have an equal right to live in this country. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians -- we are all brothers. And India is for every Indian," he said.

So, a path had to be shown to the country of amity and communal harmony, he added. Abdullah also said while the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had taken steps to connect the four corners of the country, "in Jammu and Kashmir, roads are not in a good condition".

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)