Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said his party was fighting the "BJP, RSS and the Indian state itself", triggering a row with the BJP alleging that everything the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha does or says is in the direction of breaking India and dividing the society.
Speaking at the inauguration of the new Congress headquarters here, Gandhi also hit out at RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, saying his remark that India got "true independence" after the Ram temple consecration amounts to treason and is an insult to every Indian.
"Do not think that we are fighting a fair fight. There is no fairness in this. If you believe that we are fighting a political organisation called the BJP, that we are fighting a political organisation called the RSS, you have not understood what is going on.
"The BJP and the RSS have captured every single institution of our country. We are now fighting the BJP, the RSS and the Indian state itself," he said addressing Congress leaders.
The remark drew sharp criticism from the BJP, with party chief and Union minister J P Nadda saying the Congress' "ugly truth" has been exposed by its own leader.
"'Hidden no more, Congress' ugly truth now stands exposed by their own leader," Nadda said.
Everything he has done or said has been in the direction of breaking India and dividing our society, Nadda alleged.
Union minister and senior BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman said, "The LoP, who was sworn in by taking oath on the Constitution, is now saying, 'We are now fighting the BJP, the RSS and the Indian State itself.' So, @INCIndia and @RahulGandhi, what for are you carrying a copy of the Constitution in your hand?"
He said the Congress was getting its new headquarters at a time when the RSS chief has stated that India never achieved independence in 1947 and that true independence in India was achieved when the Ram Mandir was built.
Bhagwat, he claimed, had said that the Constitution was not the symbol of our freedom.
"Mohan Bhagwat has the audacity to say to the nation what he thinks about the independence movement and the Constitution.
In fact, what he said yesterday is treason... Because he is stating that the Constitution is invalid and everything, the fight against the British was invalid.
"He has the audacity to say this publicly. In any other country, he would be arrested and tried. That is a fact," Gandhi said.
What did Mohan Bhagwat say?
On Monday, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat stated that India achieved its ‘true independence’ the day the Ram Mandir was consecrated in Ayodhya.
Bhagwat argued that after India gained political independence from the British on August 15, 1947, the Constitution drafted did not adhere to the original vision.
He suggested that the Ram Mandir’s consecration should be celebrated as "Pratishtha Dwadashi," marking true independence for Bharat, which faced enemy attack for centuries.
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