India’s BJP & Congress Clash in Row Over Catholic Priest Remarks Against Hindu Deities
10:57 GMT 12.09.2022 (Updated: 11:03 GMT 12.09.2022)
© AFP 2023 / SAJJAD HUSSAIN
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Ever since Catholic priest George Ponnaiah made controversial remarks about a Hindu deity in his meeting with Rahul Gandhi, the ruling BJP and main opposition Congress parties have taken multiple potshots at each other.
India's Junior Defense Minister Ajay Bhatt slammed Rahul Gandhi over his interaction with Catholic pastor George Ponnaiah during the ongoing "Bharat Jodo Yatra" ("Unite India Journey") on Sunday.
The BJP’s Bhatt accused the former Congress president of putting his weight behind people trying to divide India.
On Friday, Gandhi asked the Tamil Nadu pastor if "Jesus Christ is a form of God?" to which Ponniah responded, "He is the real God (...) God reveals him(self) as a man, a real person (...) not like Shakti.” Shakti, also known as Parvati, Durga, or Kali, is the wife of the Hindu God of destruction, Lord Shiva, and is one of the most important goddesses in the religion.
Reacting to Ponnaiah's controversial remarks, Bhatt claimed that Gandhi and his party have always backed divisive figures in the country.
"The people who have tried to divide the country and those who used to say that India will be divided into pieces, the Congress [Party] give respect to them, which clearly shows that those who work to divide the country, agitate, and break people are today talking about connecting India," he added.
The Congress Party, meanwhile, hit back by claiming that BJP was allegedly trying to divert attention away from Gandhi's "unity march". Gandhi is currently undertaking a 3,570 km long march from the southernmost tip of India to draw attention to rising unemployment and escalating prices of fuel and other essential commodities under PM Modi's government in Delhi.
The BJP’s Bhatt accused the former Congress president of putting his weight behind people trying to divide India.
On Friday, Gandhi asked the Tamil Nadu pastor if "Jesus Christ is a form of God?" to which Ponniah responded, "He is the real God (...) God reveals him(self) as a man, a real person (...) not like Shakti.” Shakti, also known as Parvati, Durga, or Kali, is the wife of the Hindu God of destruction, Lord Shiva, and is one of the most important goddesses in the religion.
Reacting to Ponnaiah's controversial remarks, Bhatt claimed that Gandhi and his party have always backed divisive figures in the country.
"The people who have tried to divide the country and those who used to say that India will be divided into pieces, the Congress [Party] give respect to them, which clearly shows that those who work to divide the country, agitate, and break people are today talking about connecting India," he added.
The Congress Party, meanwhile, hit back by claiming that BJP was allegedly trying to divert attention away from Gandhi's "unity march". Gandhi is currently undertaking a 3,570 km long march from the southernmost tip of India to draw attention to rising unemployment and escalating prices of fuel and other essential commodities under PM Modi's government in Delhi.
