Bharatiya Janata Party’s West Bengal unit president Sukanta Majumdar has said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi projects himself as a Hindu only when elections are to be held.
Majumdar’s comment came as Rahul Gandhi said “I am a Hindu but not a Hindutvavadi” during a rally on Sunday in Jaipur in Rajasthan, where assembly elections are scheduled to be held in 2022.
“It is our achievement that he is calling himself a Hindu. However, he acknowledges himself as a Hindu only during elections. He will wear janaeu during elections. He will visit temples and go for tourism during the elections. But when elections are not there, then he goes to beaches and has nothing to do with being a Hindu,” Majumdar told news agency on Sunday.
“The people who claim themselves as Hindus are no less than the Ramayana’s Ravana who came dressed in bhagwa clothes as an imposter to kidnap Sita,” Majumdar added.
Rahul Gandhi said on Sunday Hindutvavadis only want power and they are in power since 2014 as he urged people to throw them and bring back Hindus who follow the path of truth.
“Hindutvavadis spend their entire life in search of power. They want nothing but power and can do anything for it. They follow the path of ‘Sattagrah’ (search for power), not ‘Satyagrah’ (search for truth). This country is of Hindus, not of Hindutvavadis,” Rahul Gandhi said at the Jaipur rally.
“Who is Hindu? The one who embraces everybody fears nobody, and respects every religion, while a Hindutvavadi bows down before his fear,” he added.
“In Indian politics today, there is a competition between two words — ‘Hindu’ and ‘Hindutvavadi’. The two words have different meanings. I am Hindu but not a Hindutvavadi… Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu but Godse was a Hindutavadi.”
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also present at the Jaipur rally.
Several other BJP leaders, including party spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia, also took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi for his comment on the “difference between Hindus and Hindutvavadis”.
“Rahul Gandhi says he is Hindu and not a Hindutvavadi. But the country says that Rahul Gandhi is neither a Hindu, nor a Hindutvavadi, or a Hindustani. The reason is that a conspiracy is being run by Gandhi family to defame Hindu and Hindutva and compare it with terrorist organisations like Boko Haram and ISIS,” Bhatia was quoted as saying by news agency.
He also connecting the statements made by Congress leader in Rajasthan with the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. “These poisonous sentences are being spoken in view of the upcoming assembly elections, especially in Uttar Pradesh. I would dare you to make such indecent remarks on any other religion except Hinduism,” he said.
The Congress, Bhatia said, does not have the courage to make such provocative speeches in Uttar Pradesh.
“He knows that CM Yogi Adityanath government will take immediate action. He goes to Rajasthan where there is a Congress party government. From there he makes such statements because he knows that the government will spew their poison and Ashok Gehlot will remain silent,” said the BJP Leader.