Union Minister Smriti Irani on Saturday said the upcoming election will not be a fight for votes but a battle between "dharma" and "adharma" (righteousness and non-righteousness).
She was speaking at a public rally in Sehore as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra'. MP Assembly polls are set to be held at the end of the year, PTI reported.
"This is not a fight for votes. This is a battle between dharma and adharma," she was quoted as having said.
In an apparent reference to the remarks against Sanatan Dharma by some DMK leaders, she said, "The British came and went back, the Mughal empire ended but we (Sanatan Dharma) are still here and will continue to be there tomorrow as well," the report mentioned.
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Referring to the upcoming polls, Irani said this fight is between those who take the name of Lord Ram and those who, with the blessings of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, whose party was in power at the Centre at the time, submit documents in court claiming Lord Ram does not exist, it said.
"This is not going to be an ordinary electoral battle. There is an alliance of those who are trying to destroy Sanatan Dharma and our resolve is that we will protect religion as long as we live," she claimed, it said.
Talking about the opposition alliance INDIA reportedly announcing a boycott of shows of 14 television anchors, Irani said it was not known that the Gandhi family would be afraid of questions from journalists, it said.
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How will they (Gandhis, opposition) compete with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union minister asked, it said.
Mocking the opposition bloc INDIA, Irani said mere change of name does not turn a jackal into a lion, it added.
