Controversy over Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s religion continued on Friday as Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani term actor-turned-politician and senior Congress leader Raj Babbar ignorant for calling BJP president Amit Shah as ‘non-Hindu’.
Congress vice-president’s media co-ordinator allegedly mentioned Rahul’s religious status ‘non-Hindu’ in an entry book of Somnath temple during his visit to poll bound Gujarat. Apparently Babbar in order to defend his leader questioned Shah’s religion and said that the BJP chief was not Hindu but follower of Jainism.
Reacting on Babbar’s remark CM Rupani said that Shah was Hindu Vaishnav Vanik and the Bollywood actor’s claim on his religion was completed baseless. While addressing a gathering at Surat, Babbar attacked on the ruling party saying that the saffron party distributes certificates about the religion but its own president is non-Hindu. He claimed that Rahul’s grandmother used wear ‘Rudraksh’, generally sported by Shiva followers.
But soon after his statement CM Rupani in an interaction with media in Kevadiya of Narmada district where he had arrived to address an election rally said that Babbar was ignorant. “The Congress have started saying that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not Hindu. Let them speak what they feel like. People know it very well who is from which religion,” he said in a lighter vein.
Meanwhile addressing a public rally at tribal dominated Narmada district Rupani continued to attack sand termed the Congress party as sinking ship. Training his guns of Rahul, he said that in the past three years Congress lost at least 20 elections under Gandhi’s leadership. The Congress party could win mere seven seats out of 425 in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls earlier this year where Rahul campaigned for months, he added.
Even BJP spokesman GVL Narsimhrao jumped into controversy saying that Rahul Gandhi’s behaviour about his religious identity was fraudulent. He claimed that the Congress vice-president had in the past mentioned himself as Roman Catholic and sometimes as Muslim too.