Yogi Adityanath, speaking at a public event in Amethi, slammed Rahul Gandhi for his veiled ‘Hinduism vs Hindutva’ jibes while emphatically telling his audience to be proud of being a Hindu. “We are Indians and Hindus are our cultural identity. Say proudly that we are Hindus,” the Chief Minister said, amidst a loud cheer, adding that he has no qualms in declaring that he is a proud Hindu. Amethi was previously a Congress stronghold that Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi lost to BJP’s Smriti Irani in the 2019 election.
Yogi Adityanath further added that the sense of Hinduism does not divide on the basis of caste and religion. This is our cultural identity which if these people (in an obvious reference to the Congress) had attempted to recognise then India would not have been split in the year 1947.
जब मुख्यमंत्री नहीं थे, तब भी कहते थे, आज मुख्यमंत्री हैं, तब भी कह रहे हैं, और आगे भी कहेंगे- ‘गर्व से कहो हम हिंदू हैं!’ pic.twitter.com/z9gF9Re1OH
— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) January 3, 2022
Yogi Adityanath then went on to say that the Congress party’s greed and lust for power have wrecked the country and ripped it of its glory. To imprison the Hindus of the country, they (Congress) solicited the enactment of Article 370 in Kashmir, halted the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, lobbied for the demolition of the Ram Setu, also brought the anti-communal law. Except during election season, when they hurry to identify themselves as Hindus, they have always toyed with the Hindu beliefs, said Yogi.
Continuing his no-holds-barred attack on the Gandhi scion, the Uttar Pradesh CM went on to call him an ‘accidental Hindu’. He said that Rahul Gandhi ‘election tourist’ who does not even know how to sit in a temple.
“Former MP from Amethi (in an obvious reference to Rahul Gandhi) doesn’t even know how to sit in a temple. In 2017, during the Gujarat elections, the former MP from Amethi went to a mandir and sat on his knees to offer puja. The priest of the temple he had visited had to teach him how to sit. When he told him to fold his legs and sit the former MP replied that he was not aware of how he should be sitting. The priest had to remind him that he had visited a mandir, not a masjid. At least learn the basics before preaching about Hinduism and Hindutva”, quipped Yogi Adityanath.
इतना तो सीख लो…
— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) January 3, 2022
जिनके भीतर इतने भी संस्कार नहीं, वो हिंदू और हिंदुत्व के बारे में दुष्प्रचार करें तो यह उनकी बुद्धि का फेर है। pic.twitter.com/hpw5UgJVBQ
“If those who lack a basic understanding of rituals begin disseminating erroneous information about Hindutva and Hindutva, it can only be interpreted as a lack of intelligence”, said Yogi.
“Those who have always accepted divisive politics, disintegration, and division as part of their genes, whose forefathers used to declare we are Hindus by chance, they cannot call themselves Hindus,” the CM remarked.
Yogi Adityanath’s attack on Rahul Gandhi comes after the Congress leader’s recent rants in which he sought to emphasise the distinction between Hinduism and Hindutva.
