On Wednesday (October 5), Rahul Gandhi yet again avoided posting images of Hindu deities while sharing his greetings on the occasion of Dussehra.
In a tweet, the Congress scion wrote, “Let the Lanka of hate burn, and the spate of violence end. Hope there is the extermination of ego and victory of truth and justice.”
“I wish all Indians a Happy Dussehra,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted, while conveniently avoiding any mention of the Hindu community. This is despite the fact that Dussehra marks the victory of Lord Ram over the demon king Ravana and is a Hindu festival.
Rahul Gandhi has shrewdly avoided sharing images of Hindu deities and this is not the first time that he has resorted to such a practice. In July, Rahul Gandhi included an infographic with the word “Rath Yatra” and a picture of three ’empty’ chariots.
As is customary with the Congress leader, Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Balabhadra’s images were absent from his Twitter post.
सभी देशवासियों को महाप्रभु श्री जगन्नाथ रथयात्रा के पावन अवसर पर हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 1, 2022
मैं कामना करता हूं कि श्रद्धा और आस्था से भरी ये यात्रा आप सबके जीवन में सुख, समृद्धि, शांति और बेहतर स्वास्थ्य लाए। #RathYatra pic.twitter.com/BqYt5K3xBu
On the occasion of Ram Navami in April 2020, Rahul Gandhi posted an infographic that read, “Shree Ram Navami”. Interestingly, the image of Prabhu Ram was missing from the post.
A month prior to this, Gandhi-scion Rahul Gandhi was caught shaming ‘Hindus’ on the occasion of Saraswati Puja as he politicised the festival by dragging the hijab row.
Last year, the Congress leader had wished his followers on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. He had shared a graphic with the inscription “Ganesh Chaturthi ki hardik shubhkamnaye”. However, one crucial element is missing from the tweet. The image of Lord Ganesh himself.
In another instance, Rahul Gandhi had wished Hindus on the occasion of Shri Krishna Janmasthami. However, the image of Bal Gopal or baby Krishna, the deity who is worshipped on the occasion of Janmashtami, was missing.
In June last year, Rahul Gandhi’s Ratha Yatra tweet just had the image of the Puri Jagannath temple.
Again during Maha Shivarathri, Rahul Gandhi put out an image of the Kailash mountains instead of posting Lord Shiva’s images or his symbols in his tweet.
Such tweets have often triggered discussions on social media platforms as to whether they are meant to ‘appease’ or confirm certain Abrahamic beliefs. Netizens have time and again accused Rahul Gandhi of mistreating Hindus and often hinted at a larger conspiracy by the Congress leader to secularise Hindu festivals.