Maharashtra Congress leader Hussain Dalwai unleashed a blistering attack on Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath over his justification for police using firearms against criminals, declaring that faith-based violence promoters are terrorists through and through.
Yogi’s remark cut straight: ‘Criminals fire freely? Police pistols aren’t for show—they’re for matching that aggression, trained accordingly.’
Not mincing words, Dalwai labeled it lawlessness. ‘Guns scare off crooks, not slaughter them. This kill-first approach screams violent fanaticism,’ he said. ‘Hindu or Muslim organizations hooked on violence? They’re terrorist networks, period.’
Dalwai then dissected NCP dynamics post-merger talks. ‘Unified NCP means BJP yes-men. The Ajit Pawar group is already their extension. Sharad Pawar, true to his secular roots, would rather stand alone than kneel to BJP pressures.’
Turning to national politics, he defended Mamata Banerjee against BJP’s SIR strategy in Bengal. ‘BJP dreams of conquering Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala with their monolithic ideology—one party, one religion, one supremo. Wrong move; they won’t clinch power there.’
Dalwai’s broadside amplifies Congress’s narrative against what it sees as BJP’s aggressive expansionism, from encounter politics to state encroachments, setting the stage for polarized campaigns.