NEW DELHI: In a fiery speech in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi launched a sharp attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), asserting that Hinduism is not about spreading fear, hatred and falsehoods.
The Indian Congress leader’s remarks came during a discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the president’s address to a joint sitting of Parliament, Indian media reported.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi intervened during Gandhi’s speech, stating that calling the entire Hindu society violent is a serious issue. Gandhi 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. Gandhi began his speech by claiming BJP’s “full-scale and systematic assault on the idea of India... the Constitution... and on people who resisted the attack on the Constitution”. Many opposition leaders were “personally attacked”, the Congress leader thundered and said “some are still in jail”.
The reference seemed to be to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose AAP is part of the Congress-led India opposition bloc. Kejriwal is in Delhi’s Tihar Jail over his arrest in the liquor policy case.