The Madhya Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said the Congress was pushing a “soft Hindutva” line in the state after posters showing Congress President Rahul Gandhi pouring holy water on a lingam, a representation of Hindu deity Shiva, appeared in Bhopal.
The posters call Gandhi a “Shiva bhakt” and have a picture of Kailash Mansarovar in the background. Gandhi returned from a 12-day pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar last week. He had vowed to make the holy journey in April after the aircraft flying him to Karnataka for an Assembly election rally developed “technical snags” and plunged hundreds of feet. The Congress leader had said he wanted to visit what Hindus believe is the abode of Shiva so that he could thank the deity for having escaped unharmed.
Gandhi embarked on a roadshow in Bhopal on Monday to kick off the party’s election campaign. Life-size cutouts and posters of the Congress chief dotted the 18-kilometre route he took. The state is will go to the polls later this year.
“Whenever there are elections in any part of the country, Rahul Gandhi starts visiting temples,” said state BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal. “His first visit to Madhya Pradesh after his journey to Kailash Mansarovar on Monday has a stamp of his soft Hindutva agenda on it but people of Madhya Pradesh are wise enough to understand the design behind his so called pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar and his being dubbed as a ‘Shiv bhakt’.”
However, state Congress media-in-charge Shobha Oza said, “For the Gandhi family religion is a personal matter.” She added, “They don’t use it for votes unlike the BJP which has been using the Hindutva card and the name of Lord Ram for decades just for the sake of votes. BJP is frustrated over Rahul ji’s visit to Madhya Pradesh, hence its attack on him.”
Oza told the Hindustan Times that about 15,000 party office-bearers from across the state will interact with Gandhi on Monday. “His visit is going to energise the party workers and leaders to get rid of the misrule of corrupt BJP government in Madhya Pradesh,” she added.
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