On Sunday (January 8), Congress scion Rahul Gandhi went on an unhinged rant against Pooja (Hindu form of worship) while trying to promote his latest avatar of Tapasvi (ascetic).
Rahul Gandhi made the contentious remarks during the Haryana leg of his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. While speaking to the media in Samana near Kurukshetra, Rahul Gandhi claimed that BJP is a party of ‘Pooja’ while Congress is a party of ‘Tapasya.‘
Upon realising that he may have upset his Hindu voters by taking potshots at their religious practice, Rahul Gandhi tried to undo the damage but ended up causing more harm to his party. “There are two types of Pooja – the normal one and the one done by RSS,” Rahul brazened it out.
“RSS wants people to forcibly worship them(do their Pooja). The response to such a form of worship can only be tapasya,” Rahul said. Rahul Gandhi also claimed that lakhs of people are doing ‘tapasya‘, along with Congress, to counter the effects of the ‘pooja’ of BJP and RSS.
“BJP says that there should be no respect for tapasya but only for those who do our pooja,” he said, adding that the saffron party attacked the poor men’s tapasya through its policies such as demonetisation, GST, and the farm laws.
He further alleged that PM Modi is afraid of the tapasya of journalists and that he is therefore afraid of press conferences. “Congress is an organisation of tapasya, BJP is an organisation of pooja,” Rahul Gandhi continued.
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To further add credence to his outlandish claims, Rahul Gandhi said that the Congress party symbol has been derived from Abhay mudra of Hindu deities and how they reflect the essence of tapasya.
“The struggle for Independence was a struggle for tapasya and at that time, they (BJP/RSS) made the British rulers do pooja,” the Congress scion continued. At about 36 minutes into the press conference, he was asked by a journalist whether he has turned into an ascetic (tapasvi).
Rahul Gandhi claimed, “I was an ascetic and continue to be one. This is a country of ascetics. We do not respect tapasya enough, but, I do. This is the change I want to bring about. This is a country of ascetics and not those who do pooja (Pujaris). This is the reality of India.”
Rahul Gandhi compares his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ to Swayamvar of Draupadi
During the same press conference, Rahul Gandhi was heard as saying, “When Arjuna was hitting the eye of the fish (during the Swayamvara of Draupadi), did he announce his future course of action to everyone?”
Rahul Gandhi made the remarks upon being asked about his plans after the conclusion of his political foot pilgrimage. He had compared himself to Arjuna and erroneously claimed that the warrior (just like him) did not know about the fruits of his actions.
“The story of Arjuna (not announcing his plans in advance) has a profound meaning. It is also mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita. You focus on the work and do not think about the results. This is the thinking behind the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” Rahul Gandhi said.
The Congress scion further added, “After the Yatra ends, there will be another task in hand and then possibly another. You will get to know about my plans at that time.”
