Rahul Gandhi playing with faith of thousands of hindus: BJP

New Delhi, Aug 14: The BJP accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi today of "humiliating" the Hindus with his reported comments that he does not believe in any kind of Hindutva.

Quoting some media reports on the Congress president's interaction with journalists in Hyderabad, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said his comments indicated that he was an "ichchhadhari (shape-shifting) Hindu" who became 'janeu-dhari' (one who wears sacred thread) for political convenience.

"Rahul Gandhi had recently said the Congress is a Muslim party... Today, he says he does not believe in any kind of Hindutva. This is a humiliation for India's majority community and a matter of concern," Patra told reporters, alleging that it seems Gandhi "hated" the Hindus.

His comments showed that his visits to temples and claims by his party's leaders that he was a 'janeu-dhari Hindu' was a "temporary journey" aimed at appeasement of the Hindus for political reasons, the BJP spokesperson alleged.

When asked for comments, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said he would not respond to "theatrics" of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader "who often exposes himself to ridicule for publicity".

Patra accused the Congress president of playing with the faith of the Hindus and questioned if Gandhi would make similar remarks about any other faith.

He claimed that Gandhi also said he visited temples and met spiritual leaders because he was invited by people there.

"He does not go because of faith. His faith is not in Hinduism, but in illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh and Rohingyas," Patra alleged.

While the Congress president claims that he wants to defeat the BJP and the RSS, but it appears that he wants to defeat the Hindus, he said.

The BJP leader claimed that the term "Hindu terrorism" was coined by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government after Gandhi had said, according to Wikileaks, that radical Hindu groups were a bigger threat to the country.

PTI