rahul-caught-on-wrong-foot-as-he-confronts-bjp-on-hinduism

Rahul Gandhi, as the Leader of the Opposition appeared to confront the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on its core Hindutva ideology. However, he was caught on the wrong foot as he tried to go overboard with his aggression which was unprecedented and unusual for the position he is holding now. 

 

Gandhi started his speech by displaying a poster-size picture of Lord Shiva. The import of the message was not lost on anyone. Although he did mention other religions and their prophets also, his main emphasis was only on Lord Shiva. 

 

His purpose was obvious to project himself as much a follower of Lord Shiva and a staunch Hindu as anyone else. This was apparently to overcome the image he cultivated during the 2024 General Election campaign, where he projected himself as the guardian and the protector of "the backwards, the Dalits, the Adivasis, and the minorities”. 

 

Never, not for a single time, did he mention Hindu or Hinduism in his speeches. He made it a point to emphasise only on "the backwards, the Dalits, the Adivasis, and the minorities".

 

His party also declined the invitation to attend the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. That image was carefully cultivated to appeal to the minority voters and it did help with minorities voting en masse for the Congress.

 

During one of his speeches, while taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for saying that he takes guidance from God, Gandhi said that his God was the common people of the country. Unlike what he claimed in the parliament that he sought and got energy during the campaign from Lord Shiva, he never mentioned Lord Shiva during his campaign. He almost ended up suggesting that he did not have any such beliefs. 

 

While speaking on such sensitive issues mentioning religions by name, one has to be cautious in what he says. While attacking the BJP leaders for, what he said, misusing religion and saying they were not true Hindus, he said, "those claiming themselves to be Hindus are spreading hate and violence".

 

There are over 100 crore people in India who represent themselves as Hindus.

 

Of course, Gandhi’s targets were the BJP leaders. But his use of words conveyed a different meaning providing the ammunition to the BJP to accuse him of saying that Hindu religion promoted violence and hatred. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an intervention saying, it was a serious matter, which, in fact, it was. Gandhi in all likelihood may not have meant what he ended up saying, but the fact is that he did say it without any ambiguity. 

 

There was nothing wrong in Gandhi being aggressive in his maiden speech as the Leader of the Opposition. He had to convey a strong message both to the government and the people across the country that there was an “opposition” in the parliament, there was also a “Leader of the Opposition” now after 10 years and it was firm and undaunted in its attack on the government.

 

But, the way Gandhi went on attacking the Prime Minister personally was unprecedented and unbecoming of the position he is holding now as the Leader of the Opposition, which is a constitutional position. Gandhi was not addressing an election rally. The way he made snide personal comments on the Prime Minister will not be accepted anywhere. Here he was speaking in the parliament. 

 

After all, Modi is the Prime Minister of the country of 140 crore people. He has been elected Prime Minister for a record third time consecutively, a distinction only Gandhi’s great-grandfather Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru enjoys. He could and he should have been more discreet and circumspect in his criticism of the Prime Minister, his government, and its policies. 

 

Gandhi also made some factually inaccurate remarks, which were duly corrected on the floor of the house instantly by different ministers in the government. As he said, if the Agniveers died in action they were not given any benefits including the martyr’s status, he was instantly corrected by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who said, that every Agniveer, in case he dies in the line of duty, gets Rs 1 crore compensation from the government.

 

Similarly, he was corrected by the union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on the issue of Minimum Support Price on crops. Gandhi, who apparently meant to say that farmers were being denied the legal guarantee on MSP, said they were not being given the MSP, which they are already getting. He had to cut a sorry figure on both counts.

 

Gandhi’s cheerleaders in the party will of course praise and glorify his “great speech” in the parliament. But he could have done a better job, with better homework, and been more gracious, even while being aggressive. The way Gandhi carries and conducts himself as Leader of the Opposition will decide and determine his future political career, he should be cautious, conscious, and careful about it.