BJP Condemns Rahul Gandhi’s Statement Over Hinduism

India's federally ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday voiced its strong objection to remarks made by Congress parliamentarian Rahul Gandhi against the party and Hindu nationalist organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Responding to a question about the “scary radicalisation of youth by Hindutva forces” while addressing students of the Paris Institute of Political Sciences - Sciences Po - Gandhi said on Sunday that “there is nothing Hindu about what the BJP does and [the BJP and RSS] are not Hindu nationalist”.

“I have read the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads and other Hindu scriptures. And I can say that there is nothing Hindu about what the BJP does, there is absolutely nothing. I have not read anywhere, in no Hindu book, or heard from any learned Hindu person that you should terrorise, harm people who are weaker than you,” the Congress parliamentarian said.

The scion of the great Gandhi clan and descendant of Jawaharlal Nehru, went on to say: “So, this idea, this word, Hindu nationalists, this is the wrong word. They’re not Hindu nationalists. They have nothing to do with Hinduism. They are out to get power at any cost, and they will do anything to get power … They want dominance of a few people and that is what they are about. There is nothing Hindu about them.”

Reacting to Gandhi’s comment, BJP spokesman Shehzad Poonawalla told Sputnik India: “Rahul Gandhi can keep attacking the BJP but in his eagerness to oppose the BJP he starts attacking India while on foreign soil.”

“Whenever he's travelled abroad, he has given misleading statements be it demanding foreign intervention into India, praising Chinese models, mocking the Indian Army and democratic institutions, undermining Bharatiya (Indian) culture by mocking sengol and obeisance paid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sengol. This shows how he allows his hatred for BJP to mutate into hatred for India,” the BJP spokesman stated.

Further ripping into Gandhi, Poonawalla said that since he has turned himself into such a big spokesman of all causes Hindu, why hasn't Gandhi bothered to educate his colleagues in the alliance and in his party about the true meaning of Hindu and Hinduism.

“Why is Rahul Gandhi silent when a series of attacks are made on Hinduism and the Hindu faith by his colleague in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and by his party members?” the BJP spokesman wondered.

He was referring to controversial remarks made by Udhayanidhi Stalin, the son of Tamli Nadu state chief Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, who said that Sanatan Dharm should be eradicated and abolished. His remarks were even endorsed by Priyank Kharge, son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who justified it by comparing Sanatan Dharm with diseases.

It is not the first time that Rahul Gandhi has attacked the BJP and RSS over Hinduism. In September 2021, while addressing the foundation day of the All India Mahila Congress in the national capital, he said that the BJP and RSS are “fake Hindus” who “use” religion for their benefit.

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