In a statement that could stoke a controversy, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader CT Ravi on Monday called India a 'Hindu Rashtra (nation)'. Ravi said the Congress party was doing "appeasement" politics initially but they have now started performing pujas and visiting temples to appeal to the Hindu community.
CT Ravi, who is also the BJP national secretary, then went on to suggest to the Congress party that its leaders should visit temples not just during elections but "regularly."
“India is, India was and will be 'Hindu Rashtra'. Earlier the Congress did appeasement of minorities but now they know Hindus are united. Now, they are performing Durga puja & visiting temples. If you are Hindu, then don't do it for just elections, do it regularly,” news agency ANI quoted CT Ravi as saying.
Also read: ‘Mindset of educated, working women have broadened too much’: BJP’s CT Ravi
This is not the first time that CT Ravi said something which was construed as controversial. He earlier compared the ideologies of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Social Democratic Party of India (SPDI) to the Taliban. "AIMIM is like the Taliban of Karnataka. The ideology of AIMIM and SDPI is the same as the Taliban. People in Kalaburagi will not accept Taliban's ideology," ANI quoted him saying in Karnataka's Kalaburagi on August 31.
Ravi's comments will stoke further controversy as leaders of opposition parties have time and again alleged that the BJP is trying to establish a 'Hindu Rashtra'. Last month, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy accused the BJP of "misleading" the youth in the name of Hindutva and Hindu Rashtra, adding that their focus should rather be on creating jobs and providing employment to them. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has also alleged that the Sangh Parivar wants to destroy the democratic and secular fabric of the country in order to establish a ‘Hindu Rashtra' and the only obstacle before them in attaining it is the history of India.
{{/usCountry}}Ravi's comments will stoke further controversy as leaders of opposition parties have time and again alleged that the BJP is trying to establish a 'Hindu Rashtra'. Last month, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy accused the BJP of "misleading" the youth in the name of Hindutva and Hindu Rashtra, adding that their focus should rather be on creating jobs and providing employment to them. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has also alleged that the Sangh Parivar wants to destroy the democratic and secular fabric of the country in order to establish a ‘Hindu Rashtra' and the only obstacle before them in attaining it is the history of India.
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