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The Bharatiya Janata Party – led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh – hit back strongly to Rahul Gandhi‘s speech in Parliament on Monday afternoon, accusing the Congress MP, and Leader of the Opposition, of insulting all Hindus.

This was after Mr Gandhi – armed with a copy of the Constitution and photos of religious figures, including Lord Shiva, Prophet Mohammed, Jesus Christ, and Guru Nanak Singh – launched a fierce attack on the BJP and its ideological mentor, the RSS, claiming neither truly represented all Hindus.

Mr Modi rose twice to rebut the Congress leader’s remarks.

“Calling the entire Hindu society violent is a serious issue…” Mr Modi said the first time.

His second intervention drew jeers from his rivals; the Prime Minister declared the Constitution had taught him to respect the post of the Leader of the Opposition, which is held today by Mr Gandhi.

The opposition has claimed the government is trying to subvert the Constitution – a charge the BJP has trashed – and Mr Gandhi was among MPs adding “Jai Samvidhan” to their oaths last month.

“It feels nice… BJP people are repeating ‘Jai Samvidhan‘ after me,” he quipped.

The specific trigger to the ruckus today was Mr Gandhi’s pointed attack on the BJP and the RSS, whom he accused of violence against minorities. “Our great men spoke about non-violence (but) those who call themselves Hindus talk only about hatred… aap Hindu ho hi nahin (you are not a Hindu),” he said.

Rahul Gandhi’s Fiery Speech

Mr Gandhi began his speech by claiming a “full-scale and systematic assault on the idea of India… the Constitution… and on people who resisted the attack on the Constitution”. Many opposition leaders were “personally attacked”, the Congress leader thundered and said “some are still in jail”

The reference seemed to be to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose AAP is part of the Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc. Mr Kejriwal is in Delhi’s Tihar Jail over his arrest in the liquor policy case.

“If you look at Lord Shiva’s image you know Hindus can never spread fear and hatred… but the BJP spreads fear and hatred 24×7,” Mr Gandhi said. He also displayed images of Prophet Mohammad and Guru Nanak Singh – for which he was admonished by Speaker Om Birla – and flagged a commonality in their most popular poses – the outward-facing right hand, which is also the Congress’ symbol.

“Darao mat… daro mat… (don’t scare, don’t be scared),” Mr Gandhi asserted, referring to the ‘abhaya mudra’ – which teaches one to dispel fear – and identical lessons he said are taught by all religions.

“The ‘abhaya mudra’ is the symbol of the Congress… it is the gesture of safety, which dispels fear and accords divine protection in Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism and other Indian religions…” he said.

Amit Shah Responds

After the Prime Minister’s terse rebuttal – to which Mr Gandhi shouted “Modiji, BJP, and RSS is not the entire Hindu community” – Mr Shah took the lead.

“Leader of the Opposition categorically said those who call themselves Hindu talk of violence. He doesn’t know crores proudly call themselves Hindu… connecting violence with any religion is wrong. He should apologise,” Mr Shah demanded.

The Home Minister also invoked the Emergency imposed by Congress stalwart and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which is often used by the BJP to attack its rival, and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.

“Rahul Gandhi must apologise for his remarks painting all Hindus as violent,” Mr Shah declared.

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A Delhi court sentenced Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar to five months of simple imprisonment and ordered her to pay Rs 10 lakh in a defamation case filed by V K Saxena, now Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor. Patkar had called Saxena a “coward” and accused him of involvement in hawala transactions, which the court found defamatory. The legal battle began in 2000. Patkar plans to appeal the verdict, asserting her commitment to truth and activism.