Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had accused Congress’s Rahul Gandhi yesterday of calling Hindus violent — and got a stinging reply — today repeated the allegation in his response to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s speech.
“A conspiracy is being hatched to level false allegations against Hindus… Their ecosystem is to degrade the Hindu culture, make fun of them. It’s a fashion for them. Their allies compare Hinduism to malaria and they clap. The country will never forget,” PM Modi said.
His comments were accompanied by Opposition protests ad table thumping from the background. Only the chants about “Manipur” and justice changed to a Bollywood one-liner that warns children against lying – “Jhooth bole kaua kaate (lie and you get pecked by a crow)”.
In his first speech in parliament as the Leader of the Opposition yesterday, Mr Gandhi had come armed with photos of various gods including Lord Shiva and prophets from other religions, and used them to launch a sharp attack on PM Modi, the BJP and its ideological mentor, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, accusing them of spreading fear.
One of his comments had brought the Prime Minister to his feet. “Calling the entire Hindu society violent is a serious issue,” Mr Modi said.
The response was immediate. “No, no, no, Modi-ji. You, the BJP and the RSS are not the entire Hindu community,” Mr Gandhi said. Then pointing to the Opposition Benches, he said, “These people are Hindus too… All these people”.
“What happened yesterday should be taken seriously,”PM Modi said today. “The way you were disrespected. You shouldn’t ignore this as a childish act. They have malicious intentions. Their lies question the intellect of people,” he added.
