Portions of Rahul Gandhi's speech on Hindus, PM Narendra Modi-BJP-RSS expunged

Besides Modi, who intervened twice, at least five cabinet ministers interjected during Gandhi's speech that lasted for about an hour and 40 minutes, with Home Minister Amit Shah demanding an apology from him.

Several portions of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's speech in the House yesterday have been expunged.

 Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi launched a no-holds-barred attack on the BJP 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.

Holding up pictures of Lord Shiva, Guru Nanak, and Jesus Christ, he referred to Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism and Jainism to underline the importance of fearlessness. He also cited the attributes of Lord Shiva and teachings of Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ, Buddha, and Mahavir to state that all religions and great people of the country have said "daro mat, darao mat (do not be scared, do not scare others)".

As the treasury bench members stood up in protest, Gandhi slammed the BJP, saying, "Aap Hindu ho hi nahi (You are not Hindus). It is clearly written in Hinduism that one should stand with the truth and not back down from the truth or be scared of it," he said.

Modi, intervening into his speech, said, "This issue is very serious. Calling the entire Hindu community violent is a serious issue."

The portions expunged include his comments on Hindus, and PM Narendra Modi-BJP-RSS among others.

With PTI inputs