NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi once again trained guns at the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday when he claimed that there was song and dance at the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony, business tycoons Ambani and Adani were invited but the saffron party forgot to invite a single farmer.
Speaking at a rally in Haryana’s Hisar district ahead of the state assembly elections, Rahul said, “When the temple in Ayodhya opened you could see Adani, Ambani, Amitabh Bachchan, but you could not see one farmer, that is how Awedesh (Samajwadi Party candidate) defeated them, he won because whole India is seeing.You opened the temple and told the President that since you are a tribal you can’t come inside, you’re not allowed,” Rahul said while addressing a rally in Haryana’s Hisar district on Friday.
“After that they invited Amitabh Bachchan, Adani, Ambani, but did not allow a labourer, did you see a worker (there) or a farmer? Naach-gana chal raha hai (there was song and dance), this is your reality,” he added.
LIVE: Public Meeting | Barwala, Hisar, Haryana
He further alleged that the BJP told President Droupadi Murmu that she “could not come inside the temple, because she is a tribal.”
This was not the first time Rahul attacked the BJP over the Pran Pratishtha ceremony. Speaking at a public gathering in Chhattisgarh during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, he had also questioned the absence of poor people at the Ram temple ceremony on January 22.
“I saw Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Ambani, and Adani, but not a single farmer or labourer. All the billionaires were there, giving long speeches, while the voices of the poor were ignored,” the Congress leader had said.
The Pran Prathistha of the Ram Mandir was on January 22, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the ceremony.
‘Rahul a first class liar’
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla hit back at Rahul, saying that Congress leader’s hateful comments make him not only “anti-Hindu” but also a
“first class liar.”
“He said that there was no poor person or labourer there! Was he blind to the welcome and hospitality given to the workers by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with flower shower?” Poonawalla questioned.
BJP leader Tirath Singh Rawat also hit back at Rahul and said that the congress leader’s remarks may stem from a lack of understanding of Indian culture.
Rawat said, “Maybe he has not yet been able to understand the Indian culture. When he would be able to understand the Indian culture, he will understand all of this (these rituals).”
“Common people were involved in that celebration. That day (Pran Pratishtha ceremony) was a day of celebration, and everyone was celebrating it. Everyone was immersed in the devotion of Lord Ram,” he told news agency ANI.