Opposition mounts counter-narrative of being a ‘real Hindu’ in Lok Sabha after uproar over Rahul Gandhi’s comments

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his colleagues from the BJP accused Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of insulting the Hindu community, Opposition leaders built a counter-narrative of being “a real Hindu” while speaking on the Motion of Thanks to the President for her address to Parliament.

Congress leader K.C. Venugopal asserted that the BJP was using Hindu religion to polarise people and win the election. He pointed out how the BJP lost Banswara in Rajasthan and Banaskantha in Gujarat despite the Prime Minister alleging that Congress will snatch mangalsutra and buffalos from Hindus and give it away to minorities.

“Mahatma Gandhi and [Nathuram] Godse both believed in Bhagavad Gita. But Gandhi learnt tolerance, non-violence and the message of Bhagavad Gita and Lord Krishna. Godse learnt violence and intolerance from the same text. We are followers of Gandhi’s Hinduism, not Godse’s Hinduism,” he said.

His colleague, Gaurav Gogoi, said the Prime Minister may believe in his divine origins but the mandate proved him to be human.

Samajwadi Party (SP) MP from Faizabad seat of Ayodhya, Awadhesh Prasad, said the BJP’s loss in Lord Ram’s birthplace not only made domestic headlines but international ones as well. “In this 29-page long President’s Address, there is no mention of Ayodhya, the land of Lord Ram,” Mr. Prasad said.

‘Victory of mature voters’

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said the BJP’s defeat in Faizabad constituency, under which the Ram temple has been built, conveyed the wisdom of voters and has brought an end to communal politics. “The victory in Ayodhya is the victory of mature voters’ democratic understanding. Hoye wahi jo Ram rachi rakha. [Whatever Lord Ram has decided will happen],” Mr. Yadav said.

He also lashed out at the government over a range of issues — from paper leaks including the recent NEET exam, unemployment, Aginpath scheme, caste census and the conduct of the recent general elections among others.

Questioning the functioning of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), Mr. Yadav said: “I did not trust EVMs yesterday, I don’t trust them today. And even if I win all 80 seats [in Uttar Pradesh], I will not trust EVMs. The issue of EVMs is not dead, and we Samajwadis will remain adamant on it.”

On the chaos surrounding NEET examination, he said: “The achievement of last 10 years is the birth of an education mafia. The most prestigious paper in the country was also leaked... The government is enabling leaks because they don’t want to give jobs to youth.”

“If jobs are given, then reservation also has to be given...knowingly, the government has played around with jobs and reservation,” he said.

Reflecting on the 2024 electoral mandate, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said the election is a moral victory for the INDIA bloc.

‘Positive politics’

“It is a victory of positive politics. It is victory of PDA (Pichde Dalit Alpsankhayak), social justice movement. 2024’s message is also full of responsibility for the INDIA bloc,” Mr. Yadav said.

“June 4, 2024 was the day of independence from communal politics for India. In this election, communal politics has lost forever,” he pointed out.