On Monday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded an apology from Congress lawmaker and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. They accused him of making disparaging remarks about Hindus and spreading misleading information about the Agnipath recruitment policy for the armed forces.
During his speech in the Lok Sabha, amid the debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s address, Gandhi accused the BJP of fostering communal division. He claimed that Agniveers who die in action are not treated equally with other recruits.
“Our great leaders spoke about non-violence. Those who call themselves Hindus talk only about hatred… aap Hindu ho hi nahin (you are not a Hindu),” Gandhi said, targeting the BJP. Holding up a picture of Lord Shiva, he added, “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.”
The BJP interpreted Gandhi’s remarks as an attack on Hindus. Party president and Union minister JP Nadda, in a post on ‘X’, stated, “Rahul Gandhi Ji must immediately APOLOGISE to all Hindus for terming them as violent. This is the same person who was telling foreign diplomats that Hindus are terrorists. This intrinsic hate towards Hindus must stop.”
Despite the Congress clarifying that the statement was aimed specifically at the BJP and not Hindus in general, the BJP remained unyielding.
Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw criticized Gandhi for raising questions about the armed forces, commenting on the Speaker’s post, and tearing up an ordinance from his own government. “He tried to mislead Parliament… he said compensation had not been paid to farmers in Ayodhya, whereas ₹253 crore has been paid to over 4,000 shopkeepers. The most important issue is that he insulted Hindus. In 2010, the then home minister P Chidambaram called Hindus terrorists, in 2013 Sushilkumar Shinde said the same. In 2021, Rahul Gandhi said ‘Hindutvavadis’ should be expelled,” Vaishnaw stated.
Vaishnaw further alleged that Gandhi lowered the dignity of political discourse to a “condemnable” level, adding that showing pictures of Gods and linking them to politics is “unpardonable.” He also addressed Gandhi’s remarks in Parliament about the Agniveer scheme, labeling them as lies. Defense minister Rajnath Singh had clarified during the session that martyrs under the Agniveer scheme would receive compensation of ₹1 crore.
Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju also criticized Gandhi, urging the Speaker to pass a directive that would require corrective action if unverified statements were made. He added that if Gandhi lied in the House, he would have to face the consequences as per the House’s rules and regulations.
Refuting the BJP’s claims, Ayodhya MP Awadhesh Prasad asserted that Gandhi did not say anything against Hindus. “He spoke about the mindset of the BJP and the ideology of the RSS. His statement was not for Hindus, it was for the people of BJP and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh),” Prasad explained.
