‘Will he talk about any other religion?’: BJP MP slams Rahul Gandhi over ‘not Hindus’ remark
Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad
BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday hit out at the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for claiming that the leaders of the ruling party were not Hindus and questioned whether the Congress MP would speak about any other religion this way.
“…What does he mean? There's nothing more painful than this…That, too, coming from the Leader of the Opposition. Will he be able to speak like this about any other religion?” the BJP MP told the media outside the Parliament House.
During a discussion on the Motion of Thanks to President's address, Rahul Gandhi, in an apparent reference to the BJP, said that those who call themselves Hindus are engaged in “violence and hate”, causing a massive uproar from the treasury benches. Gandhi began his address with “Jai Samvidhan” slogan and held a picture of Lord Shiva, saying that the message is about “fearlessness” and “non-violence”.
“If you look at Lord Shiva's image, you would know that Hindus can never spread fear and hatred, but BJP spreads fear and hatred 24/7…All religions and all our great men talk about non-violence and fearlessness, but those who call themselves Hindus only talk about violence, hatred and falsehood…Aap Hindu ho hi nahi (You are not Hindus),” the Congress leader said.
He went on to display placards featuring images of Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ, and a quote from the Quran and reiterated that all religions, including Hinduism, Islam, and Sikhism, emphasise courage and the importance of being fearless.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interrupted Gandhi's speech twice and asserted that calling the entire Hindu society “violent” is a "serious matter.
“This issue is very serious. Calling the entire Hindu community violent is a serious issue,” Modi said.
Gandhi retorted that Modi and BJP are not the entire Hindu society.
Besides Modi, at least five cabinet ministers also interjected during Gandhi's speech.
Union home minister Amit Shah demanded an apology from Gandhi for “hurting the feelings” of crores of people who take pride in identifying themselves as Hindus.
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