Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sambit Patra on Friday said the Congress leadership had a "pathological hatred" for Hinduism and it was at the behest of senior party MP Rahul Gandhi that other veterans like Salman Khurshid, Shashi Tharoor and P Chidambaram targeted the religion.
The BJP spokesperson’s latest attack came hours after Gandhi drew a distinction between Hinduism and Hindutva and spoke about how the latter was being used by the saffron camp, namely the BJP’s ideological founder the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to spread hate.
According to a PTI report, Patra said the former Congress president had a history of making critical comments about Hinduism and its culture. “It is in the character of the Congress and the Gandhi family to attack Hinduism at every opportunity,” he said.
Also read | 'Exaggerated to him, not to me': Salman Khurshid on Ghulam Nabi Azad's take on Hindutva
The BJP leader further said that Congress leaders could use terms like ‘Hindu Pakistan’, ‘Hindu Taliban’ and ‘saffron terror’ only at the behest of Gandhi, whom he called the headmaster of the experimental lab.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP leader further said that Congress leaders could use terms like ‘Hindu Pakistan’, ‘Hindu Taliban’ and ‘saffron terror’ only at the behest of Gandhi, whom he called the headmaster of the experimental lab.
{{/usCountry}}"What they say is not a coincidence but an experiment. And the headmaster of this experimental lab is Rahul Gandhi.... There is a pathological hatred for Hinduism among Congress leaders, and they get traction for this from the Gandhi family," he said.
Patra's attack came a day after the ruling party slammed the grand old party over Khurshid’s comparison of Hindutva with jihadist Islamis terror groups such as ISIS and Boko Haram in his latest book. He said it was clear that Khurshid also endorsed what Gandhi had been saying, Patra said, adding people of India would never forgive the Congress.
Patra said seeking apology from Gandhi would be irrelevant as the latter had violated constitutional tenets with his remarks that spread "hate" in society.
(With inputs from agencies)