The 2019 General Elections will be fought along religious lines – it will be an “Islam vs bhagwaan [god]” and “India vs Pakistan” battle, said a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Uttar Pradesh, Times Now reported.

“Countrymen, make up your mind whether Islam will win or bhagwaan in 2019,” said Surendra Singh, the BJP legislator from Baira, at an event in Ballia. “Decide now whether it will be a victory for treason or Narendra Modi’s honesty. There will be two enterprises – one will be India’s honesty and the other, a power governed by Islamic bigotry.”

Singh also said that the Opposition was “anti-national and against our country”. “Their principles and heart lie in Italy,” he said, referring to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s roots. “You must have noticed how Rahul Gandhi has no time to attend Lok Sabha sessions, but he has all the time in the world to visit Italy at least twice a week. Why is that? Because his values do not teach him to respect India’s soil. His values only teach him to respect Italy’s soil.”

Singh made these provocative comments days after defending the BJP MLA accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district. On Wednesday, he had said Kuldeep Singh Sengar was being “falsely implicated” as “speaking from a psychological point of view, no one would rape a mother of three”.

The National Commission for Women on Thursday had sent him a notice for these remarks.