Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma.
Credit: PTI Photo
Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Tuesday lashed out at Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of insulting Hindus during his speech in the Lok Sabha.
He said that Gandhi has made it a habit to denigrate Hindus for his own political gains and to appease a particular community.
"Rahul Gandhi on the floor of Parliament called Hindus violent and hatemongers. He is not only lying but also insulting 125 crore Hindus. Rahul Gandhi's first speech as the Leader of Opposition was full of lies, disappointment and baseless statements," Sharma said during a press conference at the BJP office.
Gandhi launched a no-holds-barred attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha on Monday, accusing the leaders of the ruling party of dividing people on communal lines, drawing massive protests from the treasury benches, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi slamming the Congress leader for calling the entire Hindu community violent.
Sharma said the definition of Hindu is very big and "you (Rahul Gandhi) cannot learn it because you do not have those values".
"This has been the habit of the Congress to polarise votes by adopting the policy of appeasement and spread animosity," the Rajasthan chief minister said.
Referring to the 2013 controversial "Hindu terror" remark made by the then home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Sharma said that Congress leaders have always spoken against the Hindu community.
"Rahul Gandhi will have to think and read who is a Hindu. A Hindu follows the concept of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (the world is one family). Hindus believe in God even in nature and worship trees, mountains and rivers in nature," he said.
The BJP leader also targeted Gandhi for holding up a picture of Lord Shiva in the Lok Sabha, saying that it does not suit the Leader of Opposition to use pictures of Gods for doing politics during debates in Parliament.
"Gandhi has started seeing this picture (of Lord Shiva) for the five-seven years but a person who is born in a Hindu family keeps it in his heart from birth till death," Sharma said.
"No certificate is required from Rahul Gandhi about who is a Hindu. He is the one who did not take the name of God in his oath. It has become his habit to abuse Hindus for his petty politics and to please a particular community," he said, adding that the character of the Congress has become anti-Hindu.
Sharma also alleged that the Congress leader lied on the issue of farmers and Ayodhya in his speech in the Lok Sabha.
"He has opened a shop of lies and through this he wants to deceive the public," he said.