The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), on December 27, slammed the Congress party saying that they have insulted the god by comparing Bhagwan Ram with Rahul Gandhi.
VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal has demanded an apology from Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge over senior leader Salman Khurshid’s remarks.
“Congress had denied the existence of Bhagwan Ram and even submitted an affidavit regarding that in the Supreme Court. Comparing Bhagwan Ram with such a person (Rahul Gandhi) doesn’t suit Congress. This is the end of Congress,” said Vinod Bansal.
“This is called ‘Vinash kale viprit buddhi…sharm aani chahiye Congress ko (As doom approaches, intellect works against best interest…Congress should be ashamed of it,” he added.
On December 24, addressing a press conference, Congress leader and former minister Salman Khurshid stoked the controversy by saying, “Rahul Gandhi is a superman. He is leaving for Bharat Jodo Yatra in t-Shirts while we are wearing jackets and shivering in the cold. He is focused because he performs his ‘tapasya’, much like a yogi…Ram’s ‘khadau’ goes very far. Sometimes when Ram ji is not able to reach, Bharat takes the ‘khadau’ and goes to places. Like that, we have carried the ‘khadau’ in Uttar Pradesh. Now that ‘khadau’ has reached Uttar Pradesh. Ram ji (Rahul Gandhi) will also come.”
After the uproar over his remark, on December 28, Kushid said, “Rahul Gandhi is not Lord Ram, but he can follow the path shown by Lord Ram. They (BJP) are saying that you do not have the right to walk on it. We have an objection as they are following the path of Ravana instead of Ram”.
It is to be noted that, on September 13, 2007, during the UPA regime, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had submitted a controversial affidavit in the Supreme Court claiming that there was no historical or scientific evidence to establish existence of Lord Ram and Rama Setu as a man-made bridge.
The same year, Congress leader and then Union Minister Kapil Sibal too had said that there was no scientific evidence to prove Rama Setu is man-made. However, he had argued that one should respect the faith people have.
