Our Political Correspondent
New Delhi: Today it was Rahul Gandhi’s day in the Lok Sabha. As Leader of Opposition in the Lower House, Mr Gandhi spared no opportunity to attack the ruling NDA in general and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular. Mr Gandhi spearheaded his attack on the BJP and the RSS, whom he accused of violence against minorities and said “Aap Hindu ho nahin… (you are not Hindu).”
While Speaker Om Birla, who was in the chair chose not to interrupt the LoP Bharatiya Janata Party – led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh – hit back strongly to Mr Gandhi’s speech in Parliament this afternoon. They accused the Congress MP, and new Leader of the Opposition, of insulting all Hindus.
This was after Mr Gandhi – armed with a copy of the Constitution and photos of religious figures, including Lord Shiva, Prophet Mohammed, Jesus Christ, and Guru Nanak Singh – launched a fierce attack on the BJP and its ideological mentor, the RSS, claiming neither truly represented all Hindus. To rebut the LoP’s scathing remarks Mr Modi rose twice, but this made no imact on Mr Gandhi who was in full throttle, attacking both the BJP and Mr Modi .
“Calling the entire Hindu society violent is a serious issue…” Mr Modi said first. His second intervention drew hoots from his rivals; the Prime Minister declared the Constitution had taught him to respect the post of the Leader of the Opposition, which is held today by Mr Gandhi.
The jeers were because the opposition claimed the government was trying to subvert the Constitution – a charge the BJP has trashed – and Mr Gandhi was among MPs adding “Jai Samvidhan” to their oaths last month. “It feels nice… BJP people are repeating ‘Jai Samvidhan’ after me,” he quipped.
The specific trigger to the commotion today was Mr Gandhi’s pointed attack on the BJP and the RSS, whom he accused of violence against minorities. “Our great men spoke about non-violence (but) those who call themselves Hindus talk only about hatred… aap Hindu ho hinahin (you are not a Hindu),” he said.
Mr Gandhi began his fiery speech by claiming a “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. Mr Kejriwal is in Delhi’s Tihar Jail over his arrest in the liquor policy case.
“If you look at Lord Shiva’s image you know Hindus can never spread fear and hatred… but the BJP spreads fear and hatred 24×7,” Mr Gandhi said. He also displayed images of Prophet Mohammad and Guru Nanak Singh – for which he was admonished by Speaker Om Birla – and flagged a commonality in their most popular poses – the outward-facing right hand, which is also the Congress’ symbol.
“Darao mat… daro mat… (don’t scare, don’t be scared),” Mr Gandhi asserted, referring to the ‘abhaya mudra’ – which teaches one to dispel fear – and identical lessons he said are taught by all religions. “The ‘abhaya mudra’ is the symbol of the Congress… it is the gesture of safety, which dispels fear and accords divine protection in Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism and other Indian religions…” he said.