Owaisi slams Rahul Gandhi over his Jaipur speech

|HT|

Questioning how bringing Hindus to glory can be a secular agenda in 2021, AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asadiuddin Owaisin on Sunday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Jaipur speech in which Gandhi said India is a country of Hindus and not Hindutvadis. "Rahul and INC fertilised the ground for Hindutva. Now they are trying to harvest majoritarianism. Bringing Hindus to power is a secular agenda in 2021. Wah! India belongs to all Bharatiyas. Not Hindus alone. India belongs to people of all faith and also those who have no faith," Owaisi tweeted.

Congress has been under fire over Salman Khurshid's comment on Hindutva in his new book on Ayodhya verdict. It has also created a difference of opinion among veteran party leaders. Drawing a distinct line between Hindu and Hindutva, Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said a Hindu is one who respects all religions, embraces all and fears none. "Read any scripture -- be in Gita, Upanishad, Ramayan, Mahabharat. Where is it written that poor and weak people are to be oppressed?" Rahul said as Sonia Gandhi, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot clapped.

"If there is inflation in the country and there is suffering, then this has been done by Hindutvadis. Hindutvadis want power at any cost," Rahul said.

Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu and Godse was Hindutvadi, Rahul said explaining that a Hindu continuously searches for truth and spends his entire life for the search just like Mahatma Gandhi while a Hindutvadi spends his entire life for power. A Hindutvadi's way is 'satta'grah and not Satyagrah. "I am Hindu and not Hindutvadi," he added.

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