Rahul, Modi cross swords in House over opposition leader's Hindu remarks

IN a fiery speech in the Lok Sabha or Lower House of the Indian parliament on Monday (1), leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi launched a sharp attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of prime minister Narendra Modi, asserting that Hinduism is not about spreading fear, hatred and falsehoods and targeted the Hindu nationalists saying 'those who call themselves Hindu only talk about violence, hatred, untruth'.

"All our great men have spoken about non-violence and finishing fear... But those who call themselves Hindu only talk about violence, hatred, untruth... Aap Hindu ho hi nahi (You're not Hindu by any means)," Gandhi said.

He also took a dig at the prime minister over his recent remarks on Mahatma Gandhi, India's legendary freedom movement leader who is also called the 'Father of the Nation' in India. "The PM says that (Mahatma) Gandhi is dead and Gandhi was revived by a movie. Can you understand the ignorance?... Another thing I noticed is that it is not just one religion that talks about courage. All religions talk about courage," the 54-year-old said.

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His remarks came during a discussion on the Motion of Thanks to president Droupadi Murmu's address to a joint sitting of parliament last week.

Gandhi's speech resulted in a commotion which saw Modi intervening, saying that calling the entire Hindu society violent is a serious issue.

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The Indian National Congress leader retorted, saying "the BJP and the RSS are not the entire Hindu society".

The Congress leader further emphasised that all religions talk about courage, citing Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism to underline the importance of fearlessness.

He accused the BJP of launching systematic attacks on the Indian Constitution and the fundamental idea of India, noting that millions of people have resisted the ideas proposed by the ruling party.

"I was attacked on the orders of prime minister Modi. There were 20-plus cases (against me), (my) house was taken away, 55 hours of interrogation by the ED (Enforcement Directorate)," Gandhi said.

Despite these challenges, the parliamentarian from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh state expressed pride in the collective effort to protect the Constitution.

"It feels nice that BJP people are now repeating 'Jai samvidhan' (Hail Constitution) after me," he said.

Gandhi also expressed his contentment at being in the opposition. "I am happy and proud to be in the opposition. For us, there is something more than power, it is the truth," he said.

During his speech, Gandhi showed a picture of Lord Shiva, which prompted the speaker of the House, Om Birla, to remind him that rules do not allow displaying placards in the House.

Gandhi reiterated that all religions, including Islam and Sikhism, emphasise courage and the importance of being fearless.

Home minister Amit Shah slammed Gandhi over his remark and demanded an apology from him over his remark.

“In this country, millions of people call themselves Hindu. Do they commit violence?” he asked, adding, “Associating the sentiment of violence with any religion is wrong, and he should apologise for this."

Earlier in the day, several MPs of India's opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, including Gandhi, participated in a protest outside the parliament building, alleging the misuse of federal investigating agencies to target opposition leaders.

(With PTI inputs)