Congress rakes up Obama's religion remarks, says he saw India from Modi's vision

New Delhi, Feb 6: Congress on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "vision and philosophy" latching on to US President Barack Obama's remarks that the "acts of intolerance" experienced by religious faiths in India in past few years would have shocked Mahatma Gandhi.

"We have noted what the US President said. Modi ji had brought Obama with great fanfare to watch the Republic Day Parade here. Modi ji would have definitely shown India to Obama from his point of view.

May be Obama said this on the basis of what he saw of India from Modi's vision. What was Modi's philosophy with which he showed India to Obama that the latter had to say so?," AICC general secretary Ajay Maken told reporters here.

Obama said on Thursday in Washington, "Michelle and I returned from India - an incredible, beautiful country, full of magnificent diversity - but a place where, in past years, religious faiths of all types have, on occasion, been targeted by other peoples of faith, simply due to their heritage and their beliefs - acts of intolerance that would have shocked Gandhiji, the person who helped to liberate that nation".

The comments by Obama came a day after the White House refuted suggestions that the US President's public speech in New Delhi in which he touched upon religious tolerance was a "parting shot" aimed at the ruling BJP.

Maken also attacked the BJP on blackmoney issue saying it should now name itself 'Bhartiya Jumla Party', taking potshots at BJP President Amit Shah's remarks on black money refund.

"What kind of a party it is. It is not behaving like a responsible party. If they are saying that such an important promise made by them during the Lok Sabha polls was only a 'jumla' (phrase), I ask them to rename Bhartiya Janta Party as Bhartiya Jumla Party," AICC general secretary Ajay Maken told reporters.

Congress had yesterday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise to the nation on the black money issue in the wake of "shocking admission" by BJP Chief Amit Shah that the promise to deposit Rs 15 lakh in bank account of every family was an election "jumla" (idiomatic expression).

PTI